Why does NC’s bedfellow become gutter worm overnight?

Kamaal’s no-holds-barred continues against Congress; Soz takes matter to Delhi

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 2: By all indications, maverick Mustafa Kamaal appears to be programmed by his party National Conference in his no-holds-barred tirade against Delhi, read Indian armed forces and the coalition partner Congress. While directly blaming Army for current spurt in grenade blasts, Dr Kamaal has gone unusually whole hog against the party that installed NC back into power in 2009. Significantly, his tantrums began within days of his induction as his party’s ‘only spokesman’ and additional General Secretary last fortnight.

If well placed political sources are to be believed, Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief, Prof Saif-ud-din Soz, has now taken up the matter of Dr Kamaal’s virulent campaign against Congress---more significantly against Army---not only with the AICC leadership but also with two union Cabinet Ministers in New Delhi. Prof Soz, according to these sources, has carried with him press clippings Dr Kamaal’s statements made in the last one week. Soz is said to be gunning for Kamaal---telling Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s as well as the UPA Chairperson and AICC chief Sonia Gandhi’s confidantes in the party and the government that J&K Chief Minister’s uncle was fast emerging as a “security threat”.

Even as the NC President and the union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah has been telling everybody around in New Delhi that Dr Kamaal would be pacified by the party in a couple of days, those conversant with his behaviour for decades are said to be highly skeptical. “Munna bhai lage raho” is reportedly the pat from the party. At least two of Soz loyalists, both Ministers in Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet, are understood to have sweared to AICC General Secretary incharge Jammu & Kashmir that NC’s enfant terrible had “full support” from key members of the Sheikh dynasty---Dr Farooq Abdullah, General Secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmed and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Even after Dr Abdullah purportedly called his younger brother in the morning today and advised him against creating any space for Congress-PDP patch-up, Dr Kamaal continued to fire his salvos on Congress with total impunity. “Farooq sahib was angry with me. He spoke to me on phone and told me not to speak against Congress. But I have no hesitation in saying that Congress is a problem”, Dr Kamaal reportedly told Kashmir News Service.

In the same interview, Dr Kamaal dug into the roots of the NC-Congress bonhomie while disputing existence and authenticity of so-called Indira-Abdullah Accord of 1975. According to him, it was never inked as the Congress chief Indira Gandhi played tricks with Sheikh Abdullah. “If version of Congress is right on 1975 agreement then why then Chief Minister Mir Qasim wrote in his book that the exercise wasn’t complete. Sheik and Indira had nominated G Parthasarthy and Mirza Afzal Beg to look into those laws which were passed between 1953 to 1975 in violation of autonomy which J&K had. And they prepared a document on 86 laws out of 92. Rest of the five which included jurisdiction of Supreme Court, CAG, Election Commission, Wazeer-e-Azam and the Sader-e-Riyasat were left to Indira and Sheikh to decide,” he is quoted to have said.

“Sheikh smelt rat in it. He was supposed to go to Delhi but when he didn’t get the assurance he refused to sign the document. Let them (Congress) show me signatures of Indira and Sheikh on the 1975 accord,” he said. “They are insulting a political party which has been at forefront for the emancipation of people from 1938,” Dr Kamaal is reported to have assailed Congress.

Unfazed by the flak from several JKPCC and AICC leaders, Dr Kamaal continued to hold Army responsible for throwing grenades “so as to create an impression that militants were in place and AFSPA must not go”. A day after publicly castigating Prof Soz and Congress party’s Cabinet Minister in Omar Abdullah’s Council of Ministers, Taj Mohiuddin, Kamaal overtly charged Congress with impeding and denying autonomy to J&K. “They don’t seem to have reconciled to the tragedy which happened with people and NC from 1953 till date. They are trying to erase the history. It will haunt them today and tomorrow. They should no longer play tricks with us”, Kamaal is reported to have warned and remarked on Congress.

Political observers here are unanimous that none of the spokespersons in the Indian political parties could make such policy statements of far-reaching consequences without a green signal from the top leadership. “Why doesn’t Farooq Abdullah make a public statement on Dr Kamaal’s tantrums? Why doesn’t Omar Abdullah tweet on it?” a senior political leader and legal luminary pointed out. He insisted that by fielding the unbridled Kamaal into the arena, NC was attempting to save the face it had lost in its failure to withdraw AFSPA “before this Durbar Move”.

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