NC kingmaker’s death exposes political corruption in J&K

BJP’s cross-voting, NC’s and PDP’s tickets to defeated candidates and businessmen, freezing of action against corrupt officials and reducing Commissions to post-retirement rehabilitation centres are a few indicators

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 1: Clamour over a custodial death is paramount to all issues in a conflict area. It quite often eclipses issues and concerns of equal or more importance. That is exactly what has begun to happen over the death of National Conference’s kingmaker Syed Mohammad Yousuf. Death of an accused at Chief Minister’s residence, whether natural or by torture, is undoubtedly unprecedented. But, should the politicians and representatives of other institutions restrict their concern to only the investigation of ‘torture killing” and punishment to the “killers”?

Even on the presumption of torture killing, political corruption remains the fundamental concern. It is arguably not a matter of only human rights abuse as witnessed in hundreds of fake encounters, custodial killings and torture deaths in interrogation centres. Had Yousuf not collected money, he would not have died. Had there been no system of collecting money under different excuses in political parties, Yousuf would not have raised the fund---for himself, his party or the party leaders is still shrouded in mystery.

Chief Minister could conveniently get a benefit of doubt in matters where “coalition compulsions” are understandable. Tolerating brazen corruption of Ministers of the coalition partners and freezing departmental action against powerful bureaucrats and officers enjoying high political clout could be all ignored as the subjects beyond his reach. But, shutting eyes to his own flock and reducing the system to an unclean government headed by a clean leader would be hardly acceptable.

Does the coalition constraint prevent Chief Minister from taking action against eight Ministers of his Council who have placed their close relatives, including serving and retired officials, in their personal sections. It may not require CCTV surveillance to know what these “experienced” aides of Ministers are doing at their offices and residences. With due respect to makers of high claims in the past, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad included, files do disappear in Civil Secretariat in 2011. Files not followed by concerned remain folded for months and years on tables. Movement Register, first promised by Mufti and Azad, continues to be a dream.

It needs to be clear that NC alone is not to blame. Omar Abdullah undoubtedly suffers from the dubious distinction of keeping vital positions in different Commissions vacant for years. Equally negative against him goes the fact of his dumping a brigade of defeated candidates in what used to be called the ‘House of Elders’. Some of the nincompoops rejected by their electorate in 2008 Assembly elections were pushed to the House of Lords through fixed-match election. Others were introduced to Governor Vohra as “intellectuals”. Without a mild question, Raj Bhawan did what none of the gubernatorial offices in India could imagine.

Raj Bhawan would have found it easy to trample the Constitution on the precedence of men like Mohammad Sultan Panditpuri having passed off as “scientists, academics and intellectuals” in the past! Taking advantage of the “rubber stamp”, Government has now distributed three top positions in State Information Commission (SIC) between NC, Congress and PDP or at least Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh. Even a member of the selection committee has publicly expressed pride that Ladakh had got a representation. Civil society has interpreted it as a classic case of political expediency. In other words, many of these much-hyped Commissions have been reduced to rehabilitation centres for retiring or retired officials and blue-eyed boys of politicians.

Few years back, allotment of NC’s ticket to a leading transporter in Jammu for a seat in Legislative Council had raised eyebrows as the businessman had overtly bought MLAs to ensure his victory. Selling and buying of MLAs touched its worst level when as many as seven MLAs of BJPs indulged in cross-voting in this year’s elections for some seats of Legislative Council. Volumes have been spoken and reams have been written on their violation of anti-defection law. Fact of the matter is that none of them has been disqualified till date.

Around the same time, NC ignored many of its meritorious and high profile aspirants and granted tickets to nonagenarians businesspersons whose contribution to the House has been and would be zero. It was just the high publicity to a murder case that stopped another businessman from Jammu to become MLC for next six years.

PDP has been second to none in promotion of businessmen and “fund raisers” in political and democratic institutions. First, it allotted a ticket to a businessman for Rajya Sabha. He reportedly spent huge amounts of money but still failed to cross the target. This year too, it ignored everybody from intellectual Naeem Akhtar to senior and high profile leaders like Dilawar Mir and Tariq Hameed Qarra and instead picked up the green horn son of a rich businessman. He was lucky enough to make it to Upper House.

Until the ambit of judicial investigation is extended to know who paid money to Yousuf Bhat of Ganderbal and for what purpose did Salam Rishi and Yousuf Bhat forward it to Syed Mohammad Yousuf, demon of political corruption would not die in Jammu and Kashmir. Deaths in custody would be only an off-shoot.

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