{"id":36183,"date":"2021-01-18T20:20:31","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T14:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmir.today\/?p=36183"},"modified":"2021-01-18T20:20:31","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T14:50:31","slug":"ddc-polls-kickstarted-political-process-from-deep-freeze-will-create-new-leadership-says-omar-abdullah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/?p=36183","title":{"rendered":"DDC polls kickstarted political process from deep freeze, will create new leadership, says Omar Abdullah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Srinagar<\/strong>: Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah says DDC results expose the Centre\u2019s lies over support for its August 5, 2019, and believes Assembly polls won\u2019t be held anytime soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

In a question answer session with journalists of Indian Express, he said the People\u2019s Alliance looks no different now than it did pre-DDC polls, except that we now know that there is a popular mass of support behind what the alliance stands for, particularly in Kashmir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it would be wrong to deny that we have even opened our banks of support in Jammu as well. Going simply by the numbers, without any horse-trading, without any interference, we are in a position to establish chairpersons of the People\u2019s Alliance in about 12 or 13 of the 20 districts,\u201d he said according to news agency KINS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have seen an alarming willingness of the administration to step into the political sphere\u2026 What has come as a surprise to us post this election is the way in which the government, and wings and parts of the government machinery, are actively playing a part in converting results which were in favour of the People\u2019s Alliance into results in favour of the Apni Party, which is a very close associate of the ruling BJP\u2026 In south Kashmir\u2019s Shopian district, three of my senior colleagues have been picked up under preventive detention charges. We have no idea what trouble their detentions are preventing\u2026 In fact, one of these colleagues who comes from Shopian town wasn\u2019t even detained under these sections post-August 5, 2019. He wasn\u2019t considered troublesome then, but suddenly is considered troublesome now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe second aspect is family members of elected DDC members being detained by the police and told that as long as the elected member votes or goes and joins the Apni party, we will release the person. So, it\u2019s extremely worrying at the moment\u2026 On the one hand, you cite these (DDC polls) as examples of democracy in action and on the other hand, you are quite happy to throttle democracy at the hands of the police by using underhand tactics.\u201d
He said a political process has kickstarted in J&K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe political process was in deep freeze post August 5, 2019. They have also, to an extent, put to rest claims that mainstream politics in J&K is dead, or that there is no place for traditional political parties of J&K. If you look at the National Conference, in terms of our strike rate and our ability to win seats both in Kashmir and Jammu, I think it would be pretty surprising if somebody were to turn around and say this political party is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Does it open up new avenues for democratic representation? Well, first, previous governments have not been undemocratic. But it is true that grassroots democracy is strengthened by having a tier of governance closer to those grassroots. That is why panchayati raj institutions have always been favoured across the country\u2026 So yes, these DDC polls will create another level of political representation. They will create another generation of young, upcoming mainstream political participants across party lines. So on the whole, it\u2019s good. But I will make the point again that the administration should resist the temptation to assist the BJP and the Apni Party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Asked in the future, does he sees a permanence to the People\u2019s Alliance in J&K, Omar said, \u201cI don\u2019t think you can claim or aspire to permanence for any alliance. You only have to look at the experiences within the NDA\u2026 Their oldest allies, the Shiv Sena and the Akali Dal, are no longer part of the NDA. So, I would be the last person to assume that there is an element of permanence to the People\u2019s Alliance. We are clear on what our agenda is and we will work together towards the fulfilment of that agenda. I think we are stronger, having fought these elections together, because a lot of people, a lot of commentators assumed that this alliance would fall apart at the first sign of any serious test. Which is not to say we didn\u2019t have difficulties, we did have teething problems with seat-sharing\u2026 So, as with every alliance, it\u2019s not 100 per cent smooth sailing, but we survived this major test.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

When asked by participating in the DDC polls, did the People\u2019s Alliance go against its own agenda and accept the situation in J&K, he replied, \u201cThat was one of the points under active consideration when we were debating whether to participate in the elections or not. The conclusion that we drew was that these elections were going to go ahead with our presence or without it. At a time when public support for the agenda of the People\u2019s Alliance was being called into question, what other way did we have apart from peaceful democratic means to prove that we enjoyed popular support?\u2026 The other avenue was then to have adopted the path of the Hurriyat, which is to go down the path of confrontation, protests, strikes, stone-pelting, boycott of elections\u2026 which I think would have opened us up to the sort of criticism that would have been very difficult for us to survive\u2026 We thought that this was the best way to prove to the world at large, but particularly to the rest of India, that the bogey that has been fed to the people by the BJP that the people of J&K are resoundingly in favour of what happened on August 5, 2019, that even the people of Kashmir are a 100 per cent behind the decision, was wrong. And I think by participating in this election, we have been able to send that message out. So no, I don\u2019t think our participation has in any way legitimised what the BJP has done. In fact, if anything, it calls into question the support for and the popularity of what was done on August 5, 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a lot of anger, a lot of disappointment. I\u2019m only human and when I see the ways in which this government is going out of its way to throttle the mainstream, it\u2019s very difficult to come to terms with it and to rationalise\u2026 But I, having been an elected chief minister for six years, having been a functioning parliamentarian from 1998 onwards, I find no rational explanation and no justification for the sort of things that they have done\u2026 So it\u2019s frustrating, infuriating. It\u2019s disappointing.\u201d
\u201cNow, what would be the best case scenario?\u2026 The Supreme Court said that we can turn the clock back as far as we want when they admitted the petitions challenging the August 5, 2019, decision\u2026 So I have to trust the Supreme Court when they say that they can undo it. My own sort of limited sense of intelligence tells me that you will reach a point where it will be impossible to undo some of the changes that have been done. The time will end up being of the essence. You cannot have indefinite period of domicile being changed or land laws having been affected or cadre of J&K administrative services and police officers being changed or forest services officers being changed and similar changes being put into place and then turn around and say all this can be undone\u2026 because somebody will say so much water has flown in the Jhelum that we will now have to accept this as the new reality\u2026 which is not what we are willing to accept,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, a good outcome at the moment would be for the Supreme Court to begin hearings immediately on the petitions. It is not like the Supreme Court is not working at all. We have seen the Supreme Court take cognizance of what is happening with the farmer protests and step into those. If the farmer protests can invite the attention of the Supreme Court and their observations can include words that \u2018this did not seem to include any consultation\u2019 \u2026 then there were no consultations with J&K before what happened on August 5, 2019. By that same yardstick of consultation, the Supreme Court needs to step in with what happened in J&K and start hearing us out and let the weight of our arguments make up their minds\u2026 The best outcome would be that the Supreme Court says that what happened to J&K was unconstitutional, illegal and rolls it back.\u201d
In the future, will the People\u2019s Alliance be more than an electoral alliance? The PDP alone protested against the land laws. Will we see a unified voice on issues? he replied, \u201cI am not an office-bearer of the PAGD. I participate in the PAGD as vice-president of the National Conference\u2026 It\u2019s not as if every action of the PAGD has been unilateral\u2026 we are individual political parties in our own right also\u2026 We are not simply an electoral alliance. In fact, we became an electoral alliance much after we became the People\u2019s Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration\u2026 The elections were neither asked for by us, nor something that we sought; they were foisted on us. Participating in them was really the only reasonable avenue that was open to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s defence for most of the measures taken since August 5, 2019, has been that it has happened before \u2014 detentions, communication blackout etc. How is the current situation different from what had gone on before perhaps in a piecemeal manner? he replied, \u201cIt is different in every way\u2026 How can anybody in the BJP say that this is normal? I don\u2019t, in my lifetime, ever remember a mainstream political leader being detained under preventive arrest, much less under the Public Safety Act. Yes, different governments, mine included, have from time to time felt the need to restrict communication, but for very limited periods of time. And always with the view that these must be restored at the earliest possible opportunity. We are now seeing an absence of 4G mobile connectivity, except in two districts, for the last one-and-a-half-years\u2026 When have we ever seen a situation like this, even in the worst times?\u2026 The worrying part is that the BJP actually sees this as normal. Which fundamental rights do we have today? None. You do not enjoy the right to free speech. You do not enjoy the right to free movement\u2026 and for the BJP, this is normal. I guess this is the Jammu and Kashmir that was carved out and they are telling us it is normal and learn to live with it\u2026 which, I am sorry, I am not willing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Asked why haven\u2019t he taken matters such as the land laws and the issue of domicile to the Supreme Court, Omar said, \u201cWe have taken the fundamental fight to the Supreme Court. Everything that this government is attempting to do is under the umbrella of what was done on August 5, 2019. Instead of tying ourselves up in little battles, we want to fight the main one, which is to call into question the legality of everything that is happening because of what happened in August 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am not particularly enthused about Assembly elections in a Union Territory\u2026 You only have to look at the examples of Delhi and Pondicherry to see how their elected chief ministers are humiliated and reduced to non-entities by highly active lieutenant governors. That said, I don\u2019t foresee an Assembly election anytime soon. My father (Farooq Abdullah) is convinced that you will see an Assembly election sometime in 2021. I am at complete odds with him. I don\u2019t believe it will happen before the next Parliament election. J&K has been singled out for delimitation\u2026 The process will take a considerable time. And once that is done, new constituencies are identified, you will be pretty much at the end of this Parliament. And I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the government of India turns around and says well, hang on, we have a Parliament election in a few months, we might as well do both together\u2026 Having DDCs in place, they will be able to take the defence that J&K has a democratic framework within which governance and development activity is taking place, and that for the time being we don\u2019t need an Assembly. So, I am not preparing myself mentally for the prospect of an Assembly election. But as I said, my party president disagrees vehemently with me on this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Srinagar: Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah says DDC results expose the Centre\u2019s lies over support for its August 5, 2019, and believes Assembly polls won\u2019t be held anytime soon. In a question answer session with journalists of Indian Express, he said the People\u2019s Alliance looks no different now than it did pre-DDC polls, except that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-union-territory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}