NC's Balancing Act

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
NC MLAs in J&K assembly – KO photo by Abid Bhat

The resolution calling for special status passed by J&K Assembly on November 6 has since been in news not just in the union territory but also in the poll-bound states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand. In J&K, there have been as many interpretations of the resolution, as the number of Political parties. For the NC, the resolution is specifically for the restoration of Article 370 and Article 35A, and the other far-reaching changes flowing from August 5, 2019 decisions such as the Reorganization Act and downgrading of J&K into two union territories –
J&K and Ladakh. However, the carefully-worded resolution conspicuously omitted mention of Article 370 that granted J&K its special constitutional position. It also stayed short of condemning the August 5, 2019 move and instead sought dialogue with the centre for the return of special status.

Other opposition parties have since been slamming the NC for these omissions to prove that actually the resolution was a betrayal of the public trust as it neither
condemned the August 5, 2019 move, nor specifically sought the reinstatement of Article 370. Their argument has a certain veneer of plausibility that could appeal to masses. The parties peddling it comprise the PDP, the People's Conference and Awami Ittehad Party

The NC's coalition partner, the Congress, on the other hand, has preferred to be non-committal over the issue. And understandably so. It can't support Article 370 as that risks its public support in the rest of the country. The reason for this is that the abrogation of the constitutional provision now enjoys widespread support of the majority community in the country. So much so that this has now made it difficult for the Congress to retain its equivocal stance on the issue. More so during the ongoing elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. In response to the BJP's accusations that the Congress wanted to restore Article 370, the separate flag and constitution to J&K, the latter has been forced to clarify its position. The Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has made it clear that his party
didn't want Article 370 back.

The BJP, as is well-known, has a black and white position on the issue. The party argues that the removal of Article 370 has opened pathways for greater integration with the rest of the country. BJP legislators vehemently opposed the motion in the house, citing that a resolution of this kind was beyond the Assembly's purview since Parliament had already annulled the constitutional provision. The party considers the issue done and dusted. And which, given the tacit political consensus across the country over the issue, it is. There is also a certain recognition of this fact in Kashmir. And everyone understands that a resolution in the Assembly changes nothing on the ground.
It is simply meant to convey a symbolic rejection of the centre's withdrawal of J&K's special status by the newly elected government. On August 5, 2019,
it was the then governor Satyapal Malik who had recommended the move to the centre.

The significance of the resolution cannot be thus understated, given that the debates over autonomy, and identity, have been central to J&K's political discourse. Public mood in the Valley is that the passing of resolution for the return of special status is a powerful expression of regional sentiment. Could its wording have been stronger and more specific?
Certainly.
But why the NC has shied away from doing that is something only the NC can explain. Had the party done this, it would have certainly resonated with its support base. But it may not have got the Congress, its alliance partner, on board – albeit, the NC had enough numbers that the resolution would have passed independently of the Congress. More than getting the Congress on board, would the BJP have taken a strongly-worded pro-Article 370 resolution lying down? Wouldn't this have pitted the NC directly against the BJP-led central government very early on in its tenure? These are the questions whose answers may or may not explain the NC decision.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has mentioned that the cautiously phrased resolution was framed so as not to provoke the centre into throwing it into the dustbin. By saying so, Omar, in a sense, harked back to the NC's 1999 autonomy resolution that was summarily rejected by the centre, also led by a BJP-dominated coalition under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The difference is then J&K was an empowered state underpinned by Article 370. Now, it is a union territory looked after by the centre.
The role of the newly elected government is restricted to some aspects of basic governance.
Its maneuvering space on pressing ambitious demands such as Article 370
is limited. And within this space, it has chosen to abstractly respond to the public sentiment while staying short of antagonizing the centre.

• Views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer

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