‘Itwasa historicalliance,butdidnotworkout’
THE TRIGGER BJP leader says gap between both parties was widening, and that the time had come to part ways
operations (ceasefire) a mistake?
No. It was a goodwill gesture by the government. It is another thing that the opportunity was lost. It was not seized by the other side - the separatists, the terrorists and the political establishment in the state.
How strong were the electoral calculations and the pressure on you from the Jammu region to get out of the alliance?
If pressure or electoral calculations was to be the reason, we would have done it long ago. We had tremendous pressure on a number of occasion, whenever there was a big incident in the Valley. The situation in the state was the one and only consideration behind Tuesday’s decision. The BJP has a commitment to restoring peace, curbing terrorism in the Valley and also the larger political mission of national integrity.
That is the only factor that played a role in yesterday’s decision. Never in our discussions with the Prime Minister, home minister or National Security Advisor did any political consideration come up for any discussion.
When you forged the alliance with PDP, you said it will bridge the emotional gap between Jammu and the Valley; and between Kashmir and the rest of the country. Looking back, do you feel it is also your party’s failure?
Not really. Why was that alliance formed? We are poles apart ideologically. Mufti (Mohammad Sayeed) Saheb used to describe us as the
North and the South Poles. Ideologies can be in black and white, but politics in a democracy has many shades, many colours. You have to manage this variety of colours. You can create a rainbow.
By its very nature, rainbows are short-lived. Any alliance is difficult. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government fell because J Jayalalithaa pulled out. We had no ideological differences with her. Alliances are formed with an objective, but it is always difficult to run alliances. The whole objective was to let us try and bridge it (the gap). We do not believe in political untouchability. We tried to give it a chance and to a great extent it worked. We could succeed in bringing development to different regions in the state.
Can the BJP absolve itself of responsibilities about the worsening law and order situation when it was part of the government?
This is a very silly question. If you take that as a technical question, then I will say home ministry is not with me. It is a technical answer. Governments are essentially run by the head of the government.
The head of the government was also holding the responsibility of security, and in any case, and as the head of the unified command, she had her issues.
But Mehbooba has allowed security forces to operate, that is why in the last three years we have been able to neutralise close to 600 terrorists.
The PDP started taking a political stance of late, probably for political reasons. The BJP cannot be supporting a party for a soft approach that means raising issue of Pakistan again and again...We felt that probably because of the local political considerations, our partner has started taking a slightly different stance. That is when we felt it is not tenable. The mismatch was growing.
Was there a fear that Mehbooba might dump the BJP, and did you try to preempt such a situation by pulling out first?
National integrity, interest of the nation and people of Valley and the state entire were the only consideration for us.
The PDP allied with the BJP despite the Valley rejecting the BJP. Has the BJP weakened a proIndia force such as the PDP and strengthened the separatist forces by ending the alliance?
I do not agree with the analysis that we have strengthened the separatists. We wanted Governor’s Rule to ensure that the campaign against terrorists continues with further vigour. We had planned a four-pronged approach for Kashmir.
One, neutralise the terrorist to the last man. Two, tackle over ground network of terrorists through legal means. Three, approach all stakeholder through dialogue. Four, work for the development of state. All four dimensions are important. We would want the present administration and the governor to pursue. There is no way that separatists or terrorists will succeed in the Kashmir valley.
The BJP is facing criticism about the point that dialogue has not happened and Mehbooba, too, blamed the Centre for not doing enough.
I don’t think Mehbooba said that. Let us give her the due. She, in fact, criticised others for not responding to the home minister’s open appeal for talks, even with the Hurriyat.
The government has appointed a former DIB (director of intelligence bureau) as the interlocutor for Kashmir. He is continuing his work and will continue his work. I can tell you that there was some definite progress about talks with the Hurriyat. Unfortunately, things suddenly deteriorated and Shujaat’s (senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari) killing happened. I think there will be some stalemate for some time.
Is the talks option on the table now?
We never closed that option. The government is open to talking to all the sections. I don’t think that position will change.
Looking forward, will you ramp up security operations?
The four-pronged approach that we put in place in the last couple of years in the state will also continue under the governor’s rule.
How do you rate Mehbooba as chief minister?
Mehbooba is a senior politician. She understands politics very well. In the last two years, she understood the larger point of India’s national unity and national integrity also. Probably because she is a senior and mature politician, local political compulsions demands also weigh on her.
Is the BJP keeping options open to form an alternate government?
Right now the priority is that the governor’s rule should effectively work on the fourpronged approach that we have taken. We will see what unfolds in the coming months.
Would you be now open to advancing your political agenda, such as Article 370, and resettlement of Kashmiri pandits, that you had kept in reserve because you were in an alliance ?
Even in the agenda of alliance, we stated very clearly that the BJP has a commitment on the issue of Article 370 (which gives autonomous status to J&K). Please remember, whenever we formed alliances, there were occasions when we kept it in some kind of abeyance for some time. It happened in 1999.
Will there be a push now that you are out of the alliance?
Our commitment to abrogation of Article 370 it is a political position that will never change. But the point here is who has the authority to actually take that decision – it’s the Parliament. Pending that, we can work together with other parties, in a pragmatic manner.
What is the time frame you are looking at for the state to be under governor’s rule?
The state has an active assembly, whose tenure is there for another two-and-a-half years. Elections are due in the first quarters of 2021. We have to wait and watch whether to go for elections, or may be other parties come together after some time and want to form the government. I don’t have any immediate answer to that question.
Are you worried about the prospect of holding election in Kashmir? You have not been able to hold the byelection to Anantnag parliamentary seat.
It is a personal view that I will certainly share. Not holding Anantnag elections was not a right decision. But the Election Commission had its own reasons for not holding the election. It is up to the EC, whenever it decides, it can hold election there.
How concerned are you about the security of Amarnath Yatra?
There was certainly increased free movement of terrorists in certain areas, particularly South Kashmir, because of the month-long suspension of operation. Now that the suspension of operations is over, forces have started acting tough against these elements. The next few days are very crucial. The Yatra corridor needs to be sanitised. The additional security forces required for the yatra have already reached Kashmir valley.
You spent a lot of time building this alliance. Now that it has broken, do you regret it? Are you disappointed?
I don’t regret it. This was a historic alliance. It will remain a historic alliance. In a democracy, you have to experiment and learn to live with parties that do not share your ideology. That is the beauty of democracy. I feel sad that something that we put so much effort in has finally ended halfway through. I would have ideally liked it to complete the full term. To that extent, yes, I feel sad.
NEWDELHI:The