Why Farooq Abdullah has 'no expectation' from Rajnath Singh's visit to J&K
Union home minister Rajnath Singh is on his second visit in a month to Jammu and Kashmir. He has already met 20 different groups on the first day (September 9) of his four-day visit.
The Congress has criticised the timing of the visit, stating that it would derail the proposed Congress delegation’s visit to the state, which is unlikely to yield any fresh solutions. More surprising have been the comments by National Conference founder Farooq Abdullah, who has demanded the release of the Hurriyat leaders, arrested for money laundering and funding of violence in the Valley, stating that they should be freed to meet the home minister and the entire probe is an eyewash.
His logic that nothing would come out of the investigation is weird, as the NIA has been announcing the results of its probe regularly. It has ample proof, which could lead to filing of chargesheets against the top leadership, which has caused them to panic.
Hence, members of the Hurriyat planned a march to the NIA office, solely to display false confidence, but were prevented from doing so. They are desperately seeking local support, but as the truth about their amassed wealth gained from loss of innocent lives becomes public, their popularity declines. They appear to have only one supporter, Farooq Abdullah, who like them does not desire peace in the region.
Since the NIA went after the Hurriyat, the Valley has seen a dramatic change. Funding for organised violence vanished, fund managers and professional stone-throwers landed behind bars, resulting in only spontaneous and localised violence, akin to the rest of the nation.
Reduction in stone-throwing due to the NIA action was also commented upon by the DG of the CRPF yesterday. The Army, simultaneously has launched "Operation All Out" seeking to eliminate existing militants in the region. There are reports of a couple of militants being eliminated daily.
Such has been the impact of the combined action of the NIA and the Army that protests have drastically reduced, while parents of those who have joint militancy are seeking their sons' surrender and return, rather than letting them face elimination.
The fear in militant ranks is clearly visible as they have begun attacking softer targets which include local unarmed police personnel, or throwing grenades on convoys and running and have moved away from populated areas becoming only more visible on social media.
The changed atmosphere gave the government the confidence that its strategy in the Valley is changing, enabling the home minister to plan his visit. The recent inter-school sports event at Haiderbeg witnessed participation by over 850 students, something which could not even be contemplated a few months ago. Thus, after a long time, the Valley is witnessing relative calm, permitting members of multiple organisations spread across the region to meet the delegation.
It is hoped that student organisations would also follow suit, as they are most affected by the violence and desire a changed life. Surprisingly, the NC should have also been part of the delegations to meet the home minister, but have shied away, solely due to vote bank politics.
For Farooq Abdullah and his ilk, including the Hurriyat, peace and near-normalcy is a political nightmare, as the government has the space to bring about its changed policies for the region.
A few projects have already been implemented, while others would soon be launched. This could in the next few years adversely impact their political future, as for decades, while in power, they were clearly like "Nero who partied in England" while the state was burning under militancy.
Hence, his criticising the government would have few takers. His screaming against the NIA may win support of a few hardliners, but would cut no ice with the masses who would now begin to witness change in the environment.
The NIA has already distanced the Hurriyat from the masses, as news of their ill-gotten wealth becomes public. With reports of some turning approver, the top leadership can only count days before they also join their arrested comrades.
In fact, for the NIA, the next target should be the top leaders of the NC, whose amassed wealth, in all probability would be beyond their sources of income. Their support to Article 35A, including addressing local rallies and becoming a party in the court battle, is also a means of gaining some additional votes. However, they would lose that support as most of the state is against the article.
They have failed to realise that they are a state political party, not just from the Valley and have never mentioned that a referendum on the same should be a right approach.
The NC leadership has recently been commenting against the governments of the state and Centre, safely ensconced in their most secure villas in Srinagar, cut off from the masses, with whom their contact is almost nil. Their low electoral base in the state has only begun to shrink more, causing them to become more vocal, the only action which they can resort to, seeking a few minutes of primetime television and some headlines in the press.
For them, a burning Valley, increased casualties, funded violence and rise in militancy would provide an opportunity to demand sacking of the government and fresh elections, which they could hope to win. Peace, removal of fund managers of violence, arrest of anti-national Hurriyat and reduction of militancy is a political loss as it would benefit their rival, the PDP. It would also permit the BJP to gain a foothold in the Valley, challenging their limited electoral base.
Such political leaders, who seek to thrive on the suffering of the population for their own political games are also anti-national and should be treated as such.
If they genuinely care for the population, they should encourage groups to meet and share concerns with the home minister rather than backing the Hurriyat, which has over the years been responsible for multiple deaths of local youths while their own kin are safe outside the state, or in secure government jobs within.