Omar: NC stood 1^st, PDP 2^nd, Cong 3^rd in Panchayat elections

First indication that Justice Imtiyaz would be a member and Justice Kakroo Chairman of SAC

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Jun 22: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today claimed that his party National Conference stood at number one while winning maximum number of seats in the just concluded Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir even as the principal opposition party, PDP, emerged as the first runner-up and the coalition partner, Congress, had to be content with the third position.

In a rare interaction with Srinagar-based media---just third after be became Chief Minister in January 2009---Omar Abdullah asserted that much like the Assembly elections of 2008 NC had secured most of the Panchayat segments, followed by PDP and Congress respectively. Asked for his reaction to the PDP President Mehbooba Mufti’s repeatedly made claim that her party had won maximum number of seats in the recently concluded Panchayat elections, Omar said: “It’s true that respective party symbols were not used in these elections. We must admit that all parties fielded their candidates. As Chief Minister, I am in possession of all statistics regarding performance of different political parties but it won’t be right to disclose the details”.

“I know that I’ll become a target of many attacks from different quarters once I share these details with media. But, I can still share with you on the basis of an exercise conducted by Rural Development Department that NC stood at number one, PDP at number two and my coalition partner, Congress, at number three in terms of performance”, Chief Minister asserted.

Responding to a related question, Chief Minister admitted that NC had performed “not as good as we had expected” in a number of Assembly segments it had won in 2008 elections. He, however, claimed that in several of PDP’s segments like Mehbooba Mufti’s Wachi, in Shopian district, NC had fared the best and won maximum number of the Panchayat seats.

Omar extended his bounteous gratitude to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for breaking all previous records of massive participation in the Panchayat elections, held on non-party basis, after near thirty years. “Speculations and apprehensions were galore when we accepted the challenge of conducting the grass-root democratic exercise. Cynics first claimed that we would never hold these elections. They later claimed that there would be no candidates. When thousands of candidates jumped into the fray, pessimists said that there would be no voters. After record participation, they are now saying that we would never empower Panches and Sarpaches”, Chief Minister said.

He asserted that his government would soon empower all elected Panches and Sarpanches in accordance with the report of a high level committee that was expected to be laid before the Cabinet for its approval in near future. He said that the committee, headed by Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, was now in the process of completing the report.

Chief Minister admitted that it would take some time for the MLAs, MLCs and Ministers to reconcile to the Panchayat Raj system being introduced for the first time in Jammu & Kashmir. Chief Minister announced that block level representatives would be elected in phase-II of the democratic exercise “very soon”. “Let there be absolutely no doubts with regard to empowering these public representatives at all levels”, Chief Minister said, albeit, without making specific announcement of an amendment to the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.

Asked whether the forthcoming elections for over 150 urban local bodies in J&K would also be held on non-party basis on the pattern of Panchayat elections, Chief Minister said that a decision to that effect would be taken by the Cabinet according to the recommendations to be received from Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. He made it clear that both the options were still open.

Without any prompting or provocation, Omar sought to assert that the Panchayat or civic body elections were no substitute to finding the “political resolution to the political problem” in Jammu and Kashmir. In sharp contrast to one of the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s statements, Omar segregated the Panchayat elections from the process of resolving the political problem of J&K. According to him, Government of India had initiated the larger exercise by way of fielding a panel of three interlocutors and simultaneously holding Foreign Secretary level talks with Government of Pakistan. He said it was pretty reassuring that almost all the apprehensions, that had lately come up with Osama Bin Laden’s killing by the American troops in Pakistan coupled by David Colman Headley’s disclosures in a Chicago court, had now vanished.

“We are hopeful of substantive progress in Delhi-Islamabad talks. Interlocutors are also well on their job. As of now, they have interacted with people of different ideologies but there has been just one-odd meeting with the separatists. We wish all separatist groups to meet the interlocutors whose mandate from New Delhi has no redlines. Rather than meeting with groups and individuals who can give them nothing, separatists should discuss things with the authorized interlocutors”, Chief Minister asserted, with a repeated dig at Ram Jethmalani’s “Kashmir Committee”.

Truth & Reconciliation Commission

Asked about the fate of the “Truth & Reconciliation Commission” he had promised during Assembly elections of 2008 and announced to constitute in this year’s Budget session in the state Legislature, Chief Minister said that it would end up an exercise in futility until simultaneously operated on the other side of the LoC. He implored New Delhi and Islamabad to endorse TRC as a confidence building measure.

Accession is permanent

In reply to a journalist’s reference to Omar Abdullah’s famous statement---‘J&K has acceded to, not merged into India’---Chief Minister made it clear that he had not disputed the finality or permanence of the state’s accession to India. He stood by his assertion that merger and accession were two different phenomena but asserted that J&K’s accession to India was permanent. “Don’t please put any words into my mouth”, he asked the questioner.

Good governance

Asked for his reaction to the union Home Minister P Chidambaram’s wish that Omar should promote “good governance”, Chief Minister asserted that the central Minister had not suggested there was any “bad governance”. “If he’ll say so, he’ll be pointing his fingers on the Ministers of his own party. Congress is my key share holder. All the key portfolios are with our coalition partner”, Chief Minister said. He asserted that he would not waste any time in taking action should someone come forward with specific allegations of corruption against any of his Ministers.

State Accountability Commission

Chief Minister admitted that there had been inordinate delay in appointing Chairman and two members in the defunct State Accountability Commission (SAC). He, however, announced that two members would be appointed by next month and third one in October. For the first time, Chief Minister indicated that Mr Justice Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain, who is due to retire as a judge of J&K High Court on July 16^th, could be appointed as a member and Mr Justice Nisar Ahmed Kakroo, who is retiring as Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, could be appointed as SAC’s Chairman. Under the law, any serving/retired judge of High Court is eligible to becoming a member and any serving/retired Chief Justice of High Court or a judge of Supreme Court of India is eligible to appointment as SAC’s Chairman.

AFSPA

Responding to questions with regard to his stress on withdrawal of J&K Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Chief Minister disclosed that a high level committee was conducting the exercise to find the areas to be declared as not disturbed. The committee was also assessing to what level these special powers could be retained and withdrawn. “We have not till date received any recommendations from this committee”, Omar said. He revealed that GOCs of Srinagar-based 15^th Corps, Jammu-based 16^th Corps, Principal Secretary Home and Director General of J&K Police were members of the committee.

Chief Minister said that with the exception of one parameter, J&K was currently witnessing the most peaceful year of the last 21 years of armed insurgency and political strife. According to him, total number of civilians killed by militants in 2011 till date was 23 as compared to 22 in the corresponding period in 2010. “But, let it be clear that there should be no room for complacency. Kashmir, unfortunately, has a history. Sometimes, things change here rapidly”, Chief Minister said with a word of caution.

END