Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 6: The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was adjourned for the day on Wednesday amidst ruckus after the National Conference-led government got a resolution passed demanding Centre to open dialogue for the restoration of its special status and the opposition BJP resolving not to allow the House to function any more till the “illegal” resolution was withdrawn.
The government headed by Omar Abdullah moved the resolution urging the Centre to initiate a dialogue with elected representatives of the Union Territory for “restoration of special status, constitutional guarantees” and to work out “constitutional mechanisms” for doing the same.
After the resolution was passed by a voice vote, a ruckus broke out in the Assembly and the speaker adjourned the proceedings till Thursday. The opposition BJP which created the ruckus said it would not allow the proceedings of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly to go on until the resolution on the restoration the special status was withdrawn.
“This is an illegal resolution and until they roll it back, we will continue our protest and not allow the proceedings of the House. They will have to roll it back and then we will debate it,” Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Sunil Sharma said. He said the resolution was not part of the Assembly’s listed business and reflects the mindset of the newly-elected government in the Union Territory.
The move to get the resolution passed came a day after the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) stole the march on the issue, with its MLA Waheed Para moving a resolution in the Assembly opposing the revocation of J&K’s special status in 2019, done through abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution by the Centre.
The resolution on the restoration of the special status guaranteed under article 370 was moved by the deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary which sparked sharp reactions and furore from the BJP legislators present in the House.
Mr Sharma pointed out that article 370 was abrogated by Parliament and the Supreme Court had also approved the move. “So what constitutional right do they have to bring this resolution? We have opposed it strongly and the BJP will continue its protest and not accept it at any cost,” he said. Taking a dig at Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, Mr Sharma said he behaved as an agent of the ruling National Conference (NC) and “ripped apart” the dignity of the chair.
He also asked the Congress, an alliance partner of the NC, to clear its stand on the resolution. “Congress leaders should come out and clearly say whether they support it or not. If they support it, the people of the country will question them. If not, then without their six MLAs, the resolution as well as the government is in minority,” Mr Sharma said.
The official resolution moved by Mr Choudhary said, “This Legislative Assembly reaffirms the importance of the special status and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and expresses concern over their unilateral removal,” the resolution said.
It said the Assembly calls upon the Government of India to initiate talks with the elected representatives from Jammu and Kashmir for the restoration of the special status, constitutional guarantees and to workout constitutional mechanisms for reinstating these provisions. “This Assembly emphasises that any process for restoration must safeguard both national unity and the legitimate aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the resolution said.
Speaker Abdur Rahim Rather put the resolution to vote and it was passed with the majority of legislators supporting it. The National Conference’s (NC’s) resolution was also supported by non-coalition partners. All the three legislators of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) legislator Sheikh Khursheed, Independent legislator Shabir Kullay, J&K Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone supported the resolution. The NC has the support of 55 legislators in the 90-member House. The support of the non-coalition legislators on the resolution pushed the number of supporters to 60 legislators.
The Omar Abdullah government’s resolution was clearly more carefully worded than that moved by the PDP. It said the Assembly “reaffirms the importance of special status and constitutional guarantees” to Kashmir and “expresses concern” over their “unilateral removal” and while urging the Centre to “initiate dialogue” to restore the same, emphasised that the process must safeguard “national unity” and “aspirations of the people.”
In contrast, Mr Para’s resolution framed the sentiment of the House as opposed to the revocation of special status, saying: “This House opposes the revocation of special status of J&K and the constitutional disempowerment of Jammu and Kashmir through the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, and calls for its complete rescinding.” He also called for restoration of the special status and constitutional guarantees “in their original, pristine form.”
Omar Abdullah had given several signals since he led the NC to a big win in J&K’s first Assembly elections post-Article 370 abrogation that he may push the envelope on the issue but not too far. While restoration of Article 370 was part of the NC’s poll manifesto, as well as a promise that it would be one of the first issues on which it would move if it came to power, the Omar Cabinet stopped short and sought only restoration of statehood to J&K at its first meeting.
Its rivals dubbed it a climbdown, with the PDP even calling the move an indirect “ratification of the August 5, 2019, decision,” while the People’s Conference reminded the NC of its poll promise on Article 370.
When the PDP’s Para put the NC in a spot Monday with his resolution in the Assembly, Omar slammed it as “politics for the cameras” and suggested that his government had refrained from raising the issue out of consideration for the fact that it was the first day of J&K’s first Assembly Session in six years.
The Omar government’s carefully worded move Wednesday indicates the tightrope walk the NC vice-president is doing, between balancing poll promises and relations with Delhi.
N article 370, Mr Abdullah had said after the NC’s victory in the Assembly elections, “Article 370 is part of the National Conference’s political ideology. But we have always said it’s not a battle that’s going to end tomorrow. We’ve always said that this is a fight that is going to extend to a change of government at the Centre. I’ve been very careful to tell people time and again that you can’t expect to get back what was taken, from the people who took it from us.”
If that indicated that the NC was looking at the issue from a long-term perspective, Omar also talked about his government’s focus on restoration of statehood and development. “I would like to believe the honourable Prime Minister, who has committed to restoring statehood. I don’t recall a speech where he said statehood would be restored only when the BJP is in power, or that if the people of J&K do not vote for the BJP, they will be punished,” he said.
Notably, soon after the Omar Cabinet passed the resolution seeking restoration of statehood for J&K, he flew to Delhi for a series of meetings, including with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Sources in the Union government said these were “courtesy” meetings and conversations largely centred around seeking the Centre’s cooperation to further developmental works in the state. While the Cabinet resolution figured prominently, a source said, that was “the only political thing” on Omar’s agenda.
“In none of the conversations, he brought up the issue of Article 370. It would also have been rather odd to bring it up in the first meeting after coming to power as everyone knows the Modi government’s non-negotiable position on Article 370,” the source said.
Omar’s pussyfooting captures the complexities of the situation he finds himself in, with the vote for the NC seen as a vote against the August 5, 2019, decisions but with him heading a government that has very little powers. Jammu and Kashmir now being a Union Territory, many of the powers are vested in the Lieutenant Governor, the Centre’s representative in Srinagar.
Mr Abdullah’s speech in the Assembly on Wednesday had indicated that he could not afford setting aside the public sentiment regarding the abrogation of Article 370. That leaves him with the dilemma of whether to get into an open and continued confrontation with Delhi when armed with very little powers and with a fruitful ending unlikely. He had also earlier indicated that he was not inclined to get into fight with the centre on article 370 from day one. A senior government source added that political attacks in public aside, Delhi has always seen Omar as a “pragmatic” politician it can negotiate with.