Rebellion brewing in BJP, PDP ranks in J&K
of Karnataka elections, party insiders say that the delay is because resentment is growing among BJP MLAs against the party’s decision to sack the two ministers at the instance of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. Many BJP MLAs are apparently threatening to resign. Sat Sharma is facing much heat from the MLAs and has apparently requested the central leadership to include him in the new Cabinet and give the charge of the party in the state to a more acceptable face.
Rebellion was already brewing in PDP against Mehbooba Mufti. By sacking her Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, over his comment that Kashmir was not a political problem, the Chief Minister had sent a strong signal that she would not tolerate any rebellion in her party. Mehbooba Mufti tried to pacify senior PDP leader and MP from Baramulla, Muzaffar Beigh by nominating his wife Safina Beigh as the president of PDP women’s wing. However, many PDP MLAs, if they are not included in the Cabinet in the proposed reshuffle, may aggravate the problems for Mehbooba.
The rebel forces have got a face now in the form of her brother, Tassaduq Mufti, who recently said that PDP should say goodbye to power so as to retain its base in Kashmir. He got major support from party leaders who are opposing the continuation of the alliance with the BJP. At a recent meeting, senior PDP leaders told her that if she failed to get the Centre’s support for opening a dialogue with the separat- ists and getting anti militancy operations suspended, she should resign. Though at the end of the meeting the PDP top brass left it to Mehbooba Mufti to take a decision on the matter, in the absence of any forward movement on the agenda of alliance signed with the BJP, she is facing a huge challenge to carry on with the coalition. According to a senior PDP minister, they are expecting some positive intervention by the central leadership of BJP to start a Kashmir initiative and said that if that did not happen, it would be difficult for them to stay in the alliance.
Meanwhile, in Jammu, the opposition Congress and the J&K National Panthers’ Party have launched a tirade against the BJP, accusing it of “selling the mandate of the people of Jammu” to the PDP for remaining in power in the state. Panthers’ Party chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh, who has been addressing public rallies in various parts of Jammu, claimed that the region was facing an existential threat because of the BJP. A one-day conclave was organised under the aegis of D.K. International Foundation in the capital recently as part of the birth centenary celebrations of renowned Hindi writer and intellectual Acharya Devendra Nath Sharma.
The celebrations are being held under a coordinating committee of which Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda is the patron. The event was a part of nation-wide events which were organised in cities like Kochi, Ranchi, Lucknow, Patna and Mumbai.
Sharma’s contributions to various facets of language and literature have been subjected to critical scrutiny and some dedicated publications on his contributions are on the anvil.
The event was devoted to take forward and contemporise Sharma’s emphasis of “life long learning” such as conceptual systems, images and stereotyping, resistance to change, defences and the need to know etc.
Jammu & Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra inaugurated the conclave, while former Karnataka Governor T.N. Chaturvedi presided over the plenary session.
Speaking on the occasion, Vohra said: “It is very important to stay connected with our heritage by knowing such poise personality. Scholars like him have been successful in transforming the Indian society and their behavior towards education and life.”