Modi’s Message to J & K via Panchayats
Raman Sharma
In 26th edition of ‘Mann ki Baat ’ the famous radio interaction program by Prime Minister Narendra Modi broadcasted on Sunday (27/Nov), the Prime Minister have made it clear that Jammu and Kashmir State remains on top of the agenda of his government. When the entire country was expecting him to speak on demonetization, he started his conversation referring his visit to Ladakh to celebrate Deepawali with the Jawans of Army and Indo Tibetan Border Police at China border. This was his 1st Mann ki Baat program after announcement of Demonetization on 8th of November.
Despite hue and cry by all opposition parties against the demonetization and bandh call, the Prime Minister candidly initiated his speech firstly mentioning the issues related to the Himalayan state, even after reference of his visit to Ladakh, he continued to appreciate and recite his meeting with the delegation of Panchayat members of All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference, ( AJKPC is a leading organization representing members of the rural local bodies of the state). The delegation led by its Chairman Shafiq Mir had met the Prime Minister at New Delhi including over 2 dozens of other village heads belonging to different Panchayats on 5th of November. The significance attributed by the Prime Minister about his meeting could be guessed from the fact that after minutes of his meeting with this delegation, from his personal twitter handle @narendramodi (having over 25 million followers), he flashed the group photo of his meeting with these panches and sarpanches followed by 3 more tweets expressing satisfaction and assurance to do everything possible to ensure development state and to meet aspirations of the youth of the state. These tweets later liked and rewetted by thousand times by others across the country.
It was not only the tweets that drew the attention of the national media about his meeting with this delegation but in fact an official press note along with photographs having more than 420 words was also formally issued by Prime Minister Office that is yet available on www.pmindia.gov.in). After the formal meeting for over an hour, the Prime Minister had also hosted a High tea for this delegation of village heads .
In his address to the nation on the radio program, Mann ki Baat, the P.M appreciated the role of the Panchayat Conference for helping the government to ensure attendance of the students for exams and for their concern about the future of the children and burning of schools in Kashmir valley.
“A few days ago, all Pradhans from the villages of Jammu & Kashmir had come to see me. They were from the Jammu & Kashmir Panchayat Conference. They had come from different villages of the Kashmir valley, there were around 40-50 Pradhans. I got an opportunity to speak to them at length. They had come to discuss a few points on the development of their villages; they had some demands. But when the deliberations began, issues such as conditions in the valley, the law and order situation, the future of children came up in a natural manner. These village Pradhans spoke about these topics with such affection and openness that everything touched my heart. In the course of the conversation, there was also a mention of schools in Kashmir that had been set afire. And I felt these Pradhans were as saddened as our other countrymen were, at that. They too felt that it was not just schools, it was the future of the children, that had been set ablaze. I had urged them to focus on these children’s future, on their return home. I am feeling happy today that these Pradhans, who had come from the Kashmir valley, kept their word in letter and spirit. They returned to their villages and made people from far and wide aware on this issue. Recently, just a few days ago, when the Board examinations were held, 95% of the sons and daughters of Kashmir, the young students appeared in the examinations. The sheer volume of students, who appeared in the Board Examinations, is a clear indication that our children from Jammu & Kashmir are committed to attain newer heights of progress, to build a bright future through the medium of education. For their resolute zeal I congratulate these students and I also felicitate their parents, their kith and kin, their teachers and all the Gram Pradhans as well from the depths of my heart”, the PM Said.
Before the conclusion of this meeting of the Panchayat heads with the P.M at New Delhi, neither the J & K government nor even the local BJP leadership knew anything about the meet and it has come as a big surprise for political parties and leaders.
Analysts and experts on Kashmir issue consider it as a hint by the Modi government to separatists and as well as the mainstream political parties including NC and PDP that they no more have monopoly to dictate terms to the government of India on Kashmir as the GOI can directly interact with the people of Jammu and Kashmir without any mediocre. They also hinted that in days to come the Panchayat Conference Could be seen playing more important role. It is also been seen as a reaction of the Union government to the Syed Ali Shah Geelani camp’s inflexibility wherein they did not even open the doors for meeting with the parliament members including Sita Ram Yechury, Sharad Yadav and D Raja during their visit to valley in the first week of September this year. After the encounter of Burhan Wani on July 8, the Valley witnessed an unprecedented trail of violence, Bandhs, curfews , loss of lives of civilians, security force personnel, burning of schools, arrests, injuries and there was lot of pressure on the union government to initiate dialogue with the separatists to calm down the flames of violence though government of India held all party meet at New Delhi headed by P.M and announced several measures. The union home minister RajNath Singh also made several visits to Srinagar and made public announcement to hold dialogue with everyone and invited them to discuss all issues for Confidence Building Measures and bring back the peace and normalcy in the state but here also the Separatists Camp snubbed the initiative of the MHA and did not turn up for any dialogue.
During the month of August a delegation of opposition political parties from the state headed by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also met the Prime Minister to discuss the situation in Valley and after his meeting even Omar thanked Modi for the patient hearing to them and promised to work together with the GOI to find solution of problems in the state but on ground neither Omar nor his National Conference made any attempt to reach the people or suggested anything doable to prevent the cycle of violence and trouble in valley. NC added fuel to fire, to score political gains, Omar vehemently opposed the sanction for establishment of IIM at Jammu and tried to divide the state on regional lines. In fact the National Conference leaders as routine adopted double standards, Senior Abdullah i.e. Farooq Abdullah who have headed the state as Chief minister for quite a long after his father Sheikh Abdullah also issued controversial statements.
On their arrival at Jammu after meeting with Prime Minister, while addressing the media persons, Shafiq Mir, Chairman AJKPC along with president Anil Sharma had castigated the opposition political parties and ridiculed ‘Autonomy’ and ’Self Rule’ as any formula. In the official press statement, the AJKPC leadership have stated “Those Kashmir Centric political parties who have soft corners for Pakistan are not friends of the people of Jammu and Kashmir; the National Conference whose leaders are today asking to include Pakistan in resolving so called pending Kashmir dispute should remember the 1931 agitation. In 1931, there was no Pakistan, so how today they have changed their stance, this shift from democracy to pro-Pakistani politics is illogical and just to hoodwink the people”. The deliberate selection of harsh vocabulary by the Panchayat Leaders even against the mainstream political parties reveal enough that somewhere they have strong patronage.
They alleged that those parties who were shying and denying the implementation of 73rd and 74th amendment of Indian Constitution here in the state under the garb of autonomy and self rule were hypocrite and those who cry for autonomy and Self Rule were in fact fooling the innocent people of Jammu and Kashmir State. ‘Either you were with India or Against it, you (political parties) cannot play the double game’ they had further alleged in the media briefing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public appreciation of the Panchayat Leaders of the State cannot be a mere co-incidence but might be a well planned strategy which may unfold in coming days. It may be rise of a political dawn in Jammu and Kashmir, it is pertinent to mention here that the Shafiq Mir, Chairman of the Panchayat Panel was handpicked by Sonia Gandhi in Oct-2013 as an entrant in Congress party and he is presently official spokesperson for the JKPCC. Whereas Anil Sharma, the AJKPC president joined the Bhartiya Janta Party before state assembly elections in presence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Jammu. It is pertinent to mention here that it was only after a months long agitation and 3-4 days full fledged hunger protest by the leaders of this Panchayt body that the then State government led by Omar Abdullah announced monthly honorarium of Rs. 2000/month for Sarpanch and 1000/Month for a Panch, it was first time in the history since establishment of Panchayti Raj institutions in the state that the government gave monetary honourarium to elected Panches and Sarpanches.
Days after AJKPC members meeting with the P.M, the Jammu and Kashmir government have also hinted to conduct Panchayat elections in the state soon and then after governor NN Vohra also cleared the pending amendment bill with his office which was passed by the State legislature early this year, earlier he had returned the file to the state government seeking clarification on the bill. All these political developments cannot be seen as mere coincident but surely a strong indication by the Union government and it should not be a surprise if in year 2017 we find this organization of Panches and Sarpanches amplifying its activities on the name of contentious demand of implementation of 73rd amendment of Indian constitutional in the state of Jammu and Kashmir which is strongly opposed by both National Conference and PDP under the garb of article 370. Feedback : jkrtiact@gmail.com
PUBLISHED IN JOURNEY LINE ON 20/12/2016 AND ALSO ON THE NEWS NOW
http://www.thenewsnow.co.in/newsdet.aspx?q=17724
