LET HIM SETTLE DOWN

The past is always with us. The raking up of emotionally divisive issues soon after his installation as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister is an acknowledgement that Mufti Mohammed Sayeed cannot make a clean break with his past. Nor for that matter can his alliance partner, the BJP. Both parties will have to do tightrope walking if the extraordinary union of two opposites is to survive. Sayeed raised the hackles of his ally within hours of assuming the CM’s office, thanking the separatists and Pakistan for a peaceful poll in the state. The remarks of the CM were actually directed at the people in the Valley. It was inconceivable that Sayeed, who had campaigned against the BJP all his life, would now sup with it. While the BJP cadres were willing to grin and bear it, the same could not be expected from the Opposition. They got their chance to pin down the Modi Government in Parliament. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, responding to the Opposition, reiterated that the people in the state and the Election Commission were to be commended for the peaceful poll in J&K, nobody else. This was a snub to Sayeed, but he took it in his stride, knowing full well that his remarks could not be allowed to go unchallenged. This was not the end of the gratuitous affronts to the BJP. Another was soon dispatched its way when a group of PDP MLAs called Afzal Guru a martyr and sought the return of his remains from Tihar Jail, where he was buried after execution. In the normal course, the BJP would have been up in arms, especially when Guru was convicted for his role in the terror attack on Parliament and was ordered to be hanged by the highest court in the land. But a large number of Kashmiris believe that he was innocent and was denied a fair trial, a feeling fanned by both the PDP and the National Conference in the run-up to the December poll in J&K. But, most remarkably, no one in the BJP murmured a word in protest at the clear provocation from the PDP legislators. This may reflect the larger, pan-Indian worldview of the party, as against the limited outlook of the Valleycentric PDP. That the BJP is willing to go the extra mile to give the stunningly bold alliance in the state a chance speaks volumes about its own priorities and wisdom. The party under Prime Minister Modi is keen to shed its tunnel-view on Kashmir and accommodate other elements in Kashmir. The fact that improving relations with Pakistan figured in the common minimum programme signed by the PDP-BJP underlines the lengths to which the BJP is willing to go in order to change things around in Kashmir. The Centre is committed to provide all possible assistance to the new CM so that he can succeed in addressing the grievances of the people of the State. On the day he was sworn in, the centre announced additional funds for relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the recent floods. It also agreed to return some of the civilian lands taken over by the armed forces for tackling violence and insurgency. Even on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the Centre has promised a review.

The point is that the BJP Government at the centre would try and accommodate the legitimate demands of the new government in J and K as far as possible. The correct, but muted response of the centre to most controversial statements by the CM and PDP legislators indicates the centre’s appreciation of the difficult time Sayeed is having in justifying the coalition with the BJP. However, if the CM is unable to exercise restraint in his bid to impress his traditional constituents, there could be trouble for the coalition, sooner than later. Even if Modi wants to give it a long rope, the pressure from the BJP cadres would force him to use that rope to hang the PDP-BJP coalition with. But if we know our politicians, and Sayeed is no exception, his doublespeak is only a bid to firm up his grip on his flock, not a challenge to the BJP. Give him some time. He would soon settle down in power and do everything to retain it.