Unnecessary fuss

Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Playing with fire” (October 31). It is incredible that the father-son duo, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, who were Ministers in the NDA and the Congress Governments at the Centre as well as Chief Ministers in Jammu & Kashmir, have asked the Centre to restore autonomy if it wants to win hearts in Jammu & Kashmir. 

One wonders what “autonomy” they are talking aboutIJ When they were in power in the State, in what way were they restricted to offer good governance to the peopleIJ They had raised the issue of “autonomy” in 2000 but failed. 

People in this country will never want to go back to the pre-1953 situation when the Jammu & Kashmir Government was headed by Prime Minister and the State by Sadr-e-Riyasat. Sheikh Abdullah was dreaming of an independent sheikhdom. The State is now democratic with guaranteed fundamental rights. The Supreme Court and the Election Commission, with global reputation for fair-mindedness, have jurisdiction there.