Amit Kushari, IAS
The Congress appears to be in quite a desperate mood now, as if India is coming to an end in May 2014. There will be general elections again in 2019 or even before that and the age old Congress party of India will have enough opportunity to prove its mettle. Assuming that Congress will face a very humiliating defeat in May 2014, there is no need for nervousness as it is not the end of the world. Congress’s call to the Marxists for forming a secular axis for containing the BJP, which has always been portrayed by the Congress in the blackest possible colour of Communalism, is indicative of a deep sense of frustration and desperation in the Congress party. The fact that the Congress president met the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid to beg for votes for the Congress party also is an indication of desperation. This will not give Congress any benefit because Congress may gain hardly 10 /15 seats in the process, inflicting serious damage to so called ‘secular parties’ like Samajwadi party, Bahujan Samaj party, DMK,etc which have always helped the Congress retain power. So in actual terms, the net gain for the Congress would be zero even if there is a big migration of Muslim votes to the Congress. Sonia Gandhi’s meeting with the Shahi Imam, will only cause poisoning of the electoral atmosphere, polarising the Hindu and Muslim votes. If this is not ‘Zeher ki kheti” then what else is?
Congress leaders should ponder as to what special have they done for the Muslims, or for that matter Hindus and Sikhs that anyone should give the Congress party any special attention. Thousands of Sikhs were butchered in cold blood in 1984 when Rajiv Gandhi was the P.M. Thousands of Kashmiri Hindus were mercilessly driven out from their homes In Kashmir by Pak intruders and terrorists when Governors appointed by the Congress party in Delhi (or United front supported by Congress) could not give due protection to the Kashmiri Hindus despite attempts by Muslim friends and neighbours to save them. The Pandits had always voted for the Congress faithfully till 1989 because Indira Gandhi’s parents Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamla Kaul were Kashmiri Hindus. But what did Congress do for their protection? Even their names were not initially entered in the voters’ lists of Jammu province. They got a much better reception and comfort in the BJP ruled states of India. About the Kashmiri Muslims, the less said the better. Congress never paid any sympathetic attention to the genuine demands and aspirations of the Kashmiri Muslims. If anybody raised a voice of dissent he was branded a Pak agent. Only when Atal Bihari Vajpayee of BJP became the Prime minister, Kashmiri Muslims were shown dignity and respect. He made many attempts to solve the Kashmir problem peacefully, and he came very close to a solution taking Pakistan into confidence. Unfortunately Vajpayee was defeated in 2004 and the Kashmir issue remained unsolved. In other parts of India also Muslims were eyed with suspicion. Why should the Muslims vote for Congress? They should learn from Mamata Bannerji of West Bengal how to give dignity to minorities. She has given so much benefit to Muslim students in institutes of higher learning and many other benefits to Muslim women that Mamata’s words are more important to the Muslim voters than the Imam of Jama Masjid. I sincerely hope that Congress will stop polarising and Communalising the society in the shameless way that they are doing nowadays. Nehru and Indira Gandhi never behaved in this way.
( The author is former Financial Commissioner, J&K Feedback to the author at 09748635185 or amitkus@hotmail.com)
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