Political tourism with what aim?

Shiban Khaibri
Fear mongering or scare mongering have absolutely no scope in Kashmir valley under the changed circumstances and in the name of what they call “assessing ” the situation on the spot, the Congress led “Opposition” leaders’ decision of proposed sojourn in the valley could be termed as opportunistic and loaded with political avariciousness . Earlier, two such attempts were made by Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad but the question is what for and how could such visits to Kashmir make any difference as these visits had very little or no scope beyond repeating more or less the same ‘feelings’ which we saw in the Parliament or outside made by Azad and some other Congress leaders when discussions on state’s reorganisation were going on . That remark is still reverberating that ” by spending money you can get things done and managed” when some locals interacted and lunched with the National Security Advisor Ajit Dovel. Such series of rhetoric were going to do nothing towards easing the position nor were going to help Congress party in any way whatsoever. Having made some basic and elementary political calculations beforehand and the net gain accruable to Congress party , results of which being obvious, the efficacy of such visits is nothing except aimed at attempting to embarrass the state and the Central Governments to settle political score at a time which being sensitive and critical, demanded probity, discretion and better judgment of things – all in the interest of the nation.
We know that there are certain small strains and temporary measures in place in the valley to pre-empt any untoward situation that could lead to death and injury to anyone from the public and the security forces and any government with commitment to public safety and welfare must ensure that not a single drop of blood got spilled on the roads due to mindless violence as any amount of violence, resistance , opposition, protests etc were unlikely to change the situation on the ground, even not in the least. In this connection, the decision of abrogation of Article 370 and reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh needed to be accepted with a positive mindset and open heart, the same being non negotiable and irreversible by nature.
On the contrary, going to Srinagar by these leaders of a few opposition parties at this juncture when their presence is not required in the least and embarking upon experimenting concepts and theories which one could safely do in Jaipur , Lucknow or Gandhinagar would be completely ill-advised and uncalled for . That would at best be termed as attempts to emerge euphemistically political on the subject. So it is better that Srinagar was made no experimenting laboratory at the moment and any aspiring (political) scientist must be advised to remain away at a distance and if circumstances warranted, could be stopped , contained and even asked to return all in the interests of the law and order situation.These experimenting overtures and indiscreetly given statements were strengthening the propaganda mills of Pakistan which has gone to this extent to say that the former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was arrested only because he opposed abrogation of Article 370 .
On the other hand, on abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 (A) as also reorganisation of the Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh, does former President of the Congress Party know the trend of series of bouts of support from most of the leaders of the Congress to the move of the Modi Government and what that all implied? Does Rahul Gandhi understand the rationale behind election of Smt. Sonia Gandhi as interim President of Congress which indirectly means his attempts going in vain and moves getting defeated to retain control of the party by proxy or by appointing a pliant nominee as President? Does his frequent bouts of absence from the country, when Congress was fighting for its survival and relevance, help the party or was going to build up his image in any manner? Can Rahul Gandhi justify any indirect control or behind the scene manipulating things to help Congress in any way? Does he justify his actions sans the concept of invoking the tenets of responsibility while doing any political assignment, issuing a statement or leading political ‘expedition’ to Srinagar ?
The writing on the wall needs to be read aloud and Rahul, despite his best efforts could not help control of the party going back into the hands of the ‘Old Guard’ . The so called “wider consultations” within the party as propounded by him was simply rejected and appointing Sonia Gandhi as interim President for indefinite period meant only one thing and that was the writ of Rahul Gandhi had become too limited to be noticed in the party. That does not mean on critical and sensitive issues like the one under reference , there should be any attempt knowingly or unknowingly that could embarrass the position of the Government internationally. That could simply not be tolerated. India under the leadership of Narindra Modi was conquering new challenges in international diplomacy and every day was adding to its tally and more was going into the surging balance of the Diplomatic account. His recent successful talks with Presidents of the US , France and other world leaders on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Biarritz France in addition to getting the highest civilian award by the UAE has further strengthened India’s stand on terrorism, Kashmir, Pakistan and other sensitive issues. Pakistan is rattled, confused, losing all-round , indicted recently by FATF and resorting to jackal’s howling of ‘nuclear attack’ which is pitiable but no oxygen should be provided to that country by overambitious political ramblings on the subject matter under reference.
Responsible politicians must rise above petty politics and bickering when an issue of international ramification was confronted by the country. Kashmir is our part and parcel including the area under illegal occupation of Pakistan , no qualms about that. Any change in political arrangement brought about by the Parliament, the supreme voice and authority of the people of the country, in Jammu and Kashmir is being frantically exploited by our belligerent neighbour whose entire applecart was upset and all its apples got scattered and scrambled. Fake news , provocative and hateful incitements, false and motivated propaganda and even ‘threats’ of ” I will act as Kashmir’s Ambassador, will tell the world, I will go to the UN General Assembly …” like stupid things were all there in the air on account of utter frustration and confusion which Pakistan is currently plunged in. Lending credence to any such manoeuvrings of Pakistan was tantamount to playing in her hands. Those trying to be over smart in arranging political tourism to Srinagar must think twice about their such actions.
When Governor’s administration made things amply clear about no need to have such “tours” conducted for Kashmir, why did Rahul Gandhi and others mostly one man party in Parliament embark upon the ill-advised decision to go ahead? The Government did absolutely right in stopping the delegation at Srinagar and sent them back to Delhi immediately after they landed at the airport? What “stock of the situation” these 12 leaders wanted to take in Srinagar is hard to comprehend when the Government and the responsible media keeps abreast one and all about the position which was fast returning to normal? Such moves were attempts , in the opinion of the state administration , to disturb the gradual restoration of normalcy in the state and 24 hours in advance the group is reported to have been advised by the state administration not to proceed to Srinagar.
However, they declined to heed and were sent back. Rahul Ji, however, should note that there were better umpteen urgent occasions right from 1989-90 when he and his associate Communists, RJD, DMK, TMC, NCP and other likeminded “secular” parties’ leaders should have been in Jammu and even around NCR to “take stock” of the plight of those in thousands who were hounded out in 1990 from Kashmir. Did he visit them even once?
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