The PDP-BJP coalition has run into heavy weather in its early days in the office. The problem is the pressing need for both the parties to address their core constituents. Still, the two can and must work in tandem for the good of J&K
On a chilly first day of March, people watched Mufti Mohammed Sayeed taking oath as the 12th Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, more than two months after the votes were counted on December 23, 2014. The Agenda of Alliance that the ideologically opposite parties BJP and PDP tailored for governance was introduced as roadmap for the 25-member Council of Ministers to begin a new era of development. The politicians gave the people to understand that the Omar Abdullah-led coalition was a saga of misrule when corruption was institutionalised, development took a back seat and unemployment became the order of the day. The unprecedented floods of September 2014, which devastated the capital Srinagar to ruins and wreaked havoc in many other districts in the valley and Jammu, broke the backbone of people’s confidence. They expected the new Government to do miracles to bring back their confidence and the glory of affected places.
The Mufti took over when roads were in their worst shape. The usual one-hour drive from Tral in south Kashmir to Srinagar along the pot-holed National Highway takes more than three hours. The countryside seldom gets power supply. Schools are closed for six months and the last time children were promoted to the next classes was 18 months ago. Government employees get delayed salaries and contractors await payments. The economy is in a bad shape. Jammu & Kashmir Bank, the only listed company of the region, is on continuous downslide with its shares steadily losing value. Pending the relief package, shopkeepers devastated by the floods are yet to re-start businesses. Those who lost dwellings braved the winter chill in rented accommodations or at relatives’ houses. Some of them left the valley. They hesitate to return for re-building their homes.
But in Kashmir, politics often takes precedence over development. Therefore, on day one, the Mufti embarked on a path to offset the political impact of his alliance with the BJP. In his maiden media interaction, he credited separatist Hurriyat Conference, militants and Pakistan for the smooth conduct of elections in J&K. The statement created a furor to the extent that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to distance his regime from it in the Rajya Sabha. The Mufti, however, stood by his remarks.
On March 4, when traders in Srinagar were protesting against the delay in relief packages, the Mufti summoned police chief K Rajindra alongwith top officials of the Home Department in Jammu and directed them to speed up the process of releasing political prisoners. Three days later, police released hardline separatist leader Masarat Alam from sub-jail Baramulla. Hell broke loose when Alam walked free to reach his Zaindar Mohalla residence in old Srinagar. The BJP protested against the “unilateral decision” and petitioned the Chief Minister to re-arrest the “hardline terrorist with lashkar-e-Tayyeba links”.
The other mainstream parties —Congress, National Conference, Samajwadi Party et al — joined the chorus. The cacophony reached to the level that the ‘Indian-by-conviction’ Mufti was dubbed as anti-India and pro-Pakistan. Mr Modi and Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh had to clear in Parliament that they were not consulted on Alam’s release.
Alam, 42, is the leader of Muslim league, a constituent of a faction of Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. A former militant of the now-defunct Hezbollah group, he shot into prominence for his role in leading the 2008 and the 2010 anti-India uprisings in Kashmir. In 2010 summer, he went underground and led the uprising that triggered off after the killing of four persons in a staged encounter in Macchil sector of north Kashmir. The protests intensified in mid-June when a teenager was killed by the police. The cycle of violence continued for four months, during which 120 protesters and bystanders were silenced by bullets while dozens of Government-owned buildings and police stations were set on fire. During this mayhem, Alam had launched the ‘Quit Kashmir Movement’, asking people to continue protests until azaadi came to Kashmir. However, he was arrested in a meticulous operation by the police in October 2010 a few weeks after violence had ebbed and life was returning to normal. So much was the dread of Alam that the police officer who arrested him and was rewarded Rs2.5 million for the catch, claimed that Mr Omar Abdullah had asked him as to why he (Alam) was not bumped off after being tracked down.
For Alam, his supporters and most leaders in the separatist camp, he is a political entity with staunch anti-India and pro-Pakistan views. They say that he was freed by a judicial process as the Public Safety Act slapped on him failed the court’s scrutiny. During the past four and half years, he was released several times but re-arrested in the court premises by the police. Mainstream leaders call him a terrorist responsible for instigating the 2010 violence. This contradiction brought the PDP and the BJP at loggerheads.
Observers say that the Mufti rushed in to invoke Hurriyat, militants and Pakistan on the first day and began exhibiting softness towards separatists by leapfrogging Alam’s release with a plan. He wanted to give the impression that he is a stronger Chief Minister and has not compromised on his ideology to involve all ‘stakeholders’ of Kashmir issue in reconciliation. The BJP’s strong reaction was also meant for its own constituency.
Thriving on anti-India politics is understandable on the part of separatists. Ironically, the mainstream politicians also exploit the same theme in Kashmir. Engineer Rashid, a second-time legislator of the Awami Ittihad Party, voted for Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad only when Congress legislators accepted the ‘mistake’ of hanging Afzal Guru. He took a similar undertaking from PDP legislators in lieu of a vote for legislative Council seats. Rashid is now planning to bring a resolution in the Assembly to get the mortal remains of Guru back.
After Alam’s release, the Mufti held two Cabinet meetings to discuss development and despatched a group of Ministers to visit the flood-affected areas. He chaired a meeting of the Unified Command Headquarters along with Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh. The Ministers from both parties did not show signs of discord. It appears that, while the coalition is not shaky, the two parties are constrained to rake up contentious issues. The latest is the attempt to ‘restore’ the dignity of J&K’s Flag and Constitution. Just like a coalition is their compulsion, catering to the vote-bank is not anything less. So, more melodrama in the future cannot be ruled out.