Despite his apologies, Delhi asks Farooq to fire Kamaal

AICC takes umbrage on ‘unwarranted’ remarks against Rahul Gandhi; Farooq seeks resignation from Kamaal

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 10: In its first assertion of authority and command in the last three years of NC-Congress coalition, Congress high command has asked National Conference patriarch and Minister in Dr Manmohan Singh’s cabinet, Dr Farooq Abdullah, to stop his younger brother, Mustafa Kamaal, from extending his anti-Congress, anti-Delhi and anti-Army tirade to the party General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. Working obsequiously on the warning from Delhi, Dr Abdullah has immediately asked Mr Kamaal to tender his resignation, both as NC’s Chief Spokesman and additional General Secretary.

Highly connected political sources revealed to Early Times that a senior leader of Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) this evening mailed one of Dr Mustafa Kamaal’s interviews, purportedly given to Kashmir News Service, with a note of caution to All India Congress Committee (AICC). In the interview circulated today, Kamaal is quoted to have rebuffed JKPCC chief Prof Said-ud-din Soz’s revelation that the AICC General Secretary had lately expressed his “unhappiness” over the quality of governance in Omar Abdullah-led government in Jammu & Kashmir.

In the interview carried in today’s Greater Kashmir, Prof Soz is quoted to have said: “I will tell you honestly that even Rahul Gandhi is not happy with governance here and he expressed his disapproval when he visited the state last month. He was not satisfied with what is happening here. Many young entrepreneurs talked to him during the visit and raised the issue of a kind of ‘disconnect’ between the youth of the state and the government”.

Soz is further quoted to have said: “Coalition is a compulsion and we have to be in coalition but we have fallen short of expectations. There are many things that could have been done better in the governance and action against corruption. There is lot of corruption in the system which has made the life of common man difficult. But this is not to suggest that blame can be passed on to NC only. Governance is a joint responsibility”.

The KNS bulletin, that stirred a hornet’s nest at AICC, quoted Kamaal to have asserted that Rahul Gandhi’s displeasure was immaterial. “What has Rahul’s happiness or unhappiness to do with the functioning of the state government?” Kamaal is quoted to have asked. “If Soz has any specific corruption case, he should refer it to State Accountability Commission or State Vigilance Commission. He is part of the government and shouldn’t level such allegations in public”, Kamaal is quoted to have rebuffed Soz through KNS.

Sources said that men of consequence in AICC took umbrage on Dr Kamaal’s remarks and dismissed them as “completely unwarranted”. After taking 10-Janpath into confidence, Congress high command intensified its snub on the NC top brass. If these sources are to be believed, Dr Abdullah was categorically asked to “discipline your unbridled brother and stop him, at once, from extending his anti-Congress, anti-coalition, anti-Delhi and anti-Army tirade to the person of Mr Rahul Gandhi”. It was pointed out that with his “virulent statements”, Kamaal had not only violated the “coalition dharma” but also generated ill-will against the Centre and its armed forces.  

Even as Dr Abdullah is understood to have refreshed his last week’s apologies, he was tersely directed to remove Dr Kamaal from the key positions in his party at once. Last month only, Dr Abdullah had installed Kamaal simultaneously on the two important positions in the party. A Minister in Dr Abdullah’s coalition Government in 1987-90, Kamaal has been functioning as NC’s MLA from Hazratbal constituency since April 2009.

Amid flurry of political activity between New Delhi, Jammu and Srinagar, Dr Abdullah not only directed Dr Kamaal to tender his resignation from both the party positions but also made his embarrassment public through NC’s Media Cell.

NC’s press release this evening read: “President Jammu & Kashmir National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah has asked Dr Mustafa Kamaal to resign immediately as the Additional General Secretary and Chief spokesman of the party. Dr Farooq Abdullah said that he had to take this difficult decision because Dr Mustafa Kamaal has been making certain statements which are not in tandem with the policies of the National Conference and are against the Coalition Dharma. Dr Abdullah said Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is committed to the National Conference-Congress coalition government and its smooth functioning and any indiscipline in this regard within the National Conference will not be tolerated”.

Sources revealed that Dr Abdullah’s political detractors scored today’s point only after making Congress high command believe that Kamaal’s tirade was actually “NC’s drama” and it was not without sanction from NC top brass including President Farooq Abdullah, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and General Secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmad. Significantly, both, Dr Abdullah as well as Omar Abdullah, had last week publicly distanced themselves from Kamaal’s statements and dismissed them as “unfortunate” but neither stopped him nor initiated any action against him.

In a quick succession, AICC’s snub to the NC has come close on the heals of an embarrassment caused to J&K Chief Minister on account of not permitting him to withdraw AFSPA on the eve of Durbar Move.

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