The PDP and the BJP should have been equal partners in the J&K Government. But the valley-based party has taken most of the Cabinet berths and controls key departments while the BJP has not received its fair share
On February 5, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed said after the December 2014 Assembly election he ignored the support offered to him by the National Conference and the Congress and, instead, entered into an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a coalition Government “for the sake of the people to bring prosperity and peace in the State”. He made this statement at a tourism conclave at the Khyber Himalayan Resorts in Gulmarg, Kashmir.
Mr Sayeed’s most remark statement was with regard to the unity and integrity of the Jammu & Kashmir and the need to bridge the 67-year old gap between the three regions of the State. “It is necessary that all the three regions of the State (Jammu, Kashmir and ladakh), work together for its growth and prosperity. Being in the same State, we have failed to connect with Jammu. How can we relate to IndiaIJ” he said.
However, his statement did not really match with what the essentially Kashmir-based Peoples Democratic Party did to Jammu and the BJP on March 1, when the coalition Government assumed office. On that day, 25 Ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy. On March 3, Mr Sayeed distributed the portfolios. Seventeen out of the 25 Ministers were Cabinet Ministers, including the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister. The remaining eight were inducted into the Council of Ministers as Ministers of State.
The PDP secured 11 berths in the all-powerful Cabinet and all the Cabinet Ministers of the PDP were from Kashmir. The BJP+ got six berths in the Cabinet. This included the Kashmir-based People’s Conference chairman, the separatist-turned-mainstream politician, Mr Sajjad lone, who was a pre-poll ally of the BJP. One of the six BJP+ Cabinet Ministers was designated as Deputy Chief Minister. Out of the eight Ministers of State, the BJP got five and the PDP three. Only one of the BJP Ministers of State hails from ladakh.
This writer was present at the swearing-in ceremony on March 1 and witnessed the restlessness among the Jammu people who came to witness the ‘historic event’. They were disturbed and upset, and complained that the Cabinet composition was so ‘lop-sided’ that the BJP Ministers would always be a ‘microscopic minority’ in the Cabinet. They worried that the BJP leaders would not be able to discharge their obligations towards their constituency — Jammu province.
The BJP won all the 25 seats from Jammu. What dumbfounded them was that the PDP, which has an equal number of MlAs, took away so many berths in the Cabinet. The insignificant representation of the BJP in the State Cabinet and the Council of Ministers has disappointed and disheartened the people of Jammu. To make matters worse, a radical leader has asserted that the PDP had not respected Jammu’s mandate and it turned out to be patently valley-centric party, as expected.
Notably, during the previous National Conference-Congress Government, both parties had equal representation in the Cabinet and the Council. This was despite the fact that the National Conference had 28 MlAs and the Congress only 15. And the people of Jammu refer to this fact again and again, to make the point that they have been given a raw deal by the PDP.
The Chief Minister has given all the major portfolios, which contain considerable political weight and have more funds, to PDP Ministers. The PDP has also established control over all the vital departments — such as power, development and public health. The public does not always appreciate the importance of these departments because those who have managed them before did not cater to the needs of the people.
like the formation of the Council of Ministers, the distribution of portfolios among the Ministers has also disappointed the people of Jammu. Jammu will may now suffer more losses, as compared to the political, economic and social loss that it has suffered in the past, at the hands of successive Kashmiri-dominated and valley-centric Governments in the State.
The PDP has also put its Ministers in the right places — like in the Revenue Department, the Police Department including the vital Criminal Investigation Department and the Finance Department. It has also appointed its own member as an Advocate General, an office who plays an important role for the Government. And if media reports are to be given any credence, it can be said that the position of Chairman of the Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Commission would also be in the hands of someone who is considered to be close to the PDP.
Another factor that has created widespread resentment in Jammu is the manner in which the PDP has been pushing its political agenda. This is not the way to connect Jammu with Kashmir. In fact, the PDP has widened the existing chasm between the two regions.
The BJP leadership in the State and the Centre must assert its authority and obtain for Jammu, what the region legitimately deserves. To not assert its position and let the PDP boss around, will only weaken the BJP in Jammu where the party created history in the 2014 lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The people of Jammu deserve better than this.
(The writer is former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Jammu)