Omar should not entertain BJP’s political prostitution

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Apr 15: He may have done it out of an apprehension for his National Conference in late 1970s but Sheikh Abdullah in history enjoys the distinction of having pioneered the anti-defection law in India. If the Department of Law has slept over the need of an amendment to J&K Peoples Representation Act of 1957, that governs the conduct of elections for Legislative Council, Sher-e-Kashmir’s successors should share the responsibility.

Owing to the absence of the amendment, that would have brought the state law at par with the central Peoples Representation Act of 1951, the prospect of cross-voting and horse trading exists in Jammu & Kashmir. It is because of this difference between the two that the whips issued by political parties are implemented in the elections for President of India and members of Rajya Sabha while as there is no mechanism to check whether a voter has observed the order in faith or breach.

The man in the hot seat today is not a run-of-the-mill politician. He did not lose a second to announce his resignation when Muzaffar Hussain Baig leveled an allegation involving the Chief Minister’s person in 2009. Omar Abdullah returned to dignity with vengeance. Again, when PDP leader Nizam-ud-din Bhat went aggressive in Assembly to prove the CM wrong over the facts of a gunbattle in Bandipore, Omar took the challenge boldly. Once again, Omar’s detractors had to eat the humble pie. He has been unquestionably standing high on the moral ground.

Omar deserves greetings on the victory of five coalition candidates in the April 13^th elections for Legislative Council. That none from NC or the coalition partner Congress resorted to infidelity, speaks volumes about Chief Minister’s popularity and trust within the ruling coalition. However, cross-voting of as many as seven MLAs of BJP made it a tarnished victory for the coalition. The defaulters deserving dismissal did vote for the two parties they have been holding responsible for every evil in India. Ideologically, there is no meeting ground between the NC-Congress fold and the right wing BJP. Much more than cursing Pakistan and militants, BJP has spent time and energy in lambasting on the mainstream twins.

Just a day before the polling, BJP leader and Chief Whip in Assembly, Ashok Khajuria, had described NC and PDP far more “harmful” to India than Hurriyat and Pakistan. In castigating NC, BJP has been serving as PDP’s counterpart in Jammu where it got 11 seats on a virulent regional and communal divide in 2008 Assembly elections. The strange bedfellows, BJP and PDP, voted for the Panthers Party candidate, Rafeeq Shah, in 2009 Upper House elections but that did not form a brazenly immoral axis. Later, one of the BJP members also voted for Dr Farooq Abdullah in the Rajya Sabha elections.

All eyes remained focused on PDP for the fact that it gave its mandate to two businessmen and ignored a galaxy of political stalwarts and intellectuals---from Tariq Hamid Qarra and Dilawar Mir to Naeem Akhtar. There were wild speculations that businessman Bharat Bhushan had been preferred to leaders of high political standing in Jammu with a purpose---of buying three MLAs from different parties. Everybody proved wrong when the results came out.

That the BJP whip defaulters voted out of conscience on April 13th is nobody’s claim. Everybody knows it is not always money that is paid to win a vote. This is also a matter of common knowledge that nobody keeps proof of buying the voters in these election. Chief Minister can not challenge his detractors on the “proof”. The fact remains that the pudding has been eaten. Was it cash or promises of privileges from the government in future, may never be established. This will be like asking Muzaffar Baig to come out with audio-visual footage in support of his accusation.

Notwithstanding maintaining the image of the state’s cleanest ever Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has already bent under party or coalition pressure in extremely serious matters in the last over two years. With the exception of G M Saroori’s dismissal, he has not acted against any of the corrupt politicians or bureaucrats. Legislative Council has already been reduced to a rehabilitation centre of defeated candidates, retired bureaucrats and controversial businessmen.

Many of those who were rejected by the people in Assembly elections of 2008, have been rehabilitated on the seats vacant by law for intellectuals and men and women of high profile in social service. This all under the nose of a leader who rushed to Governor with a caveat when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed wanted Rafi Ahmed Mir to grab such a seat in brazen disregard to Section 50 of J&K Constitution. Now Omar has been forced by his party to do five times what Mufti did in 2006. He would be the better judge what Noor Hussain and nonagenarian Dharam Vir Singh Oberai would contribute to lawmaking in this poor state.

Farooq Abdullah and Mufti are OK but when it comes to the intellectually and morally sensitive Omar Abdullah, there is no question of courthouse debate and mathematics in entertaining the political prostitution of a party that spits on autonomy and has been Omar’s target from the day of his historic speech in the Parliament in July 2008. Clearly, losing one-odd seat in Jammu would have been far less harmful than relishing the victory on an ideological rival’s promiscuity. It is high time, Chief Minister should take another big challenge of his career and favour fresh elections on the two seats in Jammu.

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