The difference between the words and actions of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has already come to light. Omar Abdullah, who claimed to be working closely with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took a step back with a new initiative.
This issue is yet to reach the central government or the lieutenant governor, but a lot has become clear from the scene seen in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly session began on November 4 and on the fourth day, the situation became so out of control due to the ruckus that marshals had to be called to control the MLAs.
In fact, on the third day of the session, a resolution was passed in the Assembly, demanding restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. On August 5, 2019, Parliament, through a resolution, abolished Article 370 relating to Jammu and Kashmir, divided the state into two parts and declared it a Union Territory.
The regional parties of the state have once again demanded restoration of the old situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The Central Government has been assuring all along that the full statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored. Regional parties in the state, including Congress leaders, had earlier demanded re-election of the state, which was rejected by the central government.
Elections were held and a new government was formed in Jammu and Kashmir. It now looked like the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir would be restored as a full-fledged state, but the way the brouhaha started, it doesn’t look like all this is going to happen in the near future.
The Jammu and Kashmir government’s proposal and the stir over Article 370
On the third day of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly session, Deputy CM Surinder Kumar Chaudhary moved a proposal related to Section 370. The Congress supported the National Conference government’s proposal, but BJP MLAs strongly opposed it. .
Protesting against the proposal, BJP MPs raised slogans like “August 5 in Zindabad” and “Where Mukherjee sacrificed his life, Kashmir is ours”. BJP leaders say the decision to scrap Article 370 is final, but the Abdullah family and the National Conference passed this proposal to emotionally blackmail the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The resolution passed in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly said: “This Assembly reaffirms the importance of the special status and constitutional guarantees that have protected the identity, culture and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir… the rights of the people.” . The House expresses concern over the unilateral abolition of… This Assembly calls on the Government of India to enter into negotiations with the elected representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to restore the special status and constitutional guarantees and make constitutional arrangements to restore the provisions to which appeal is made.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections were contested by the National Conference and the Congress under a pre-poll alliance. The National Conference in its manifesto had promised to withdraw full statehood and restore Article 370. Despite being in the alliance, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi avoided mention of Article 370 and seemed to be involved only in the promise of return of statehood, but the resolution tabled in the Assembly has also been supported by Congress MLAs.
The day after the resolution was passed, i.e. on November 7, there was a fierce fight between the MLAs during the session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. The MLAs of the ruling party and the opposition BJP grabbed each other and pushed each other a lot. As the uproar grew, bailiffs had to be called and the proceedings of the assembly also had to be postponed.
The stir began when Langate MLA Khurshid Ahmed Shaikh waved the Article 370 banner in the House. Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Sunil Sharma protested against the display of the banner, following which a fight broke out between the MLAs. Khurshid Ahmed Sheikh is the brother of Engineer Rashid, Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla.
As soon as the opposition leader protested, he approached BJP MLA Khurshid Ahmed Sheikh and snatched the Section 370 banner from his hand. Seeing this, some National Conference MLAs, leaders like Sajjad Lone and Waheed Para, clashed with BJP MLAs in support of Khurshid Sheikh. Three MLAs are also said to have been injured during the rampage. Even when the marshals were removing the BJP members, they continued to raise slogans: “Withdraw the special status proposal.”
If this proposal is not a call for conflict, what is then?
Omar Abdullah had said that a resolution demanding restoration of statehood would be passed in the first cabinet meeting of the new government in Jammu and Kashmir, but he did not say anything clear about Article 370. At least not after the elections. The National Conference manifesto is a different matter.
Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid had also attacked Omar Abdullah regarding Section 370. Engineer Rashid, defeated in the Lok Sabha elections, also accused Omar Abdullah of bowing to Delhi. Then Engineer Rashid said that in the name of restoring Article 370, he kept asking for votes from the people, and now he says that it is foolish to expect the person who took it away to restore it.
The passing of the resolution on Article 370 may be part of some kind of pressure on Omar Abdullah, but his talks on better relations with the Center now seem meaningless. Before taking oath as Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah used to say that he would do his best to establish better relations with the Centre, and he also had similar expectations from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but after the proposal was passed, he had no expectations. of the Center. There is no meaning left. Omar Abdullah had also said this: we must understand who is who in our department, what powers we have… what decisions we can take. How far can we go…what are our limits?
The question is how, after passing the resolution in the Assembly, how can Omar Abdullah say that clapping is done with both hands? On the other hand, clouds of apprehension hang over Jammu and Kashmir, as in Delhi.
