Kumaraswamy was wary as Congress, JDS MLAs camped in Hyderabad

The 13-hour long camping of the Congress and JD(S) MLAs in Hyderabad on Friday exposed the chinks in the Opposition’s armour as former Karnataka Chief minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, who is also the CM face of the two post-poll allies, tracked the legislators’ movements every other minute, and, at one instance, screamed on them to check the whereabouts of two Congress MLAs who had disappeared for an hour during lunch.

The arrival of a large number of Karnataka opposition MLAs created much curiosity in Hyderabad’s political circles. The MLAs travelled in a long convoy of around 100 vehicles, including half a dozen luxury coaches on the jammed city roads. On Karnataka police’s request, their counterparts in Hyderabad had made elaborate security arrangements for the MLAs.

The MLAs landed in the city at 8am and left around 9pm by road so as to catch up with the special session of Assembly in Bangalore from 11 am and for the floor test at 4pm on Saturday. As many as 140 suits were booked in four hotels and the legislators were kept at Hotel Taj Krishna and Novotel, while others were put up at Hyatt Park and Golconda Resorts.

Initially, the Congress and JD(S) leaders planned a long stay outside of Bangalore and had preferred Kochi, but once it was known that the Supreme Court might advance the floor test, they opted for Hyderabad as it is just five hours by road. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told the media that they couldn’t trust flights as they might be diverted to other cities for want of landing clearances.

The Congress and JD(S) lawmakers were jubilant once they were told about the apex court’s order for an early floor test on Saturday at 4pm although a sense of worry gripped them due to the disappearance of a couple of Congress MLAs for an hour from Taj Krishna. Kumaraswamy was with his party MLAs at Novotel, but he was seen constantly talking to Congress leaders in Taj Krishna, seeking updates on their legislators.

Both Kumaraswamy and his father former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda spoke to Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday night, seeking his support for their camp the next day in Hyderabad. KCR promised them to provide police security to the MLAs, but didn’t turn up at the hotel himself to receive them or depute any of his ministers for the same. Telangana Congress leaders turned up at the hotels and made arrangements for Karnataka legislators’ stay and transport in the city.

But Kumaraswamy was not satisfied with the arrangements and rushed to Taj Krishna after he was told that two Congress MLAs went missing for an hour from there. He shouted at the Congress leaders of Karnataka for failing to guard the MLAs from being poached. Then he called up former CM Siddaramaiah, requesting him to keep his flock together.

Siddaramaiah came to Hyderabad by a special flight and addressed his MLAs at Taj Krishna and told them the dos and don’ts to be followed till Saturday 4pm. Later, they all decided to leave for Bangalore by night and stay at another resort on the city outskirts and then leave for the Assembly at 11am for oath taking by the Protem speaker. The ceasefire announcement has rekindled hopes among the students in South Kashmir that their schools may be resumed soon. People in general, and students in particular, are happy, but have worries what will happen after Ramzan. The locals alleged that during a recent gunfight in Shopian, which the Army and the security forces killed a top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist along with Assistant Professor of Kashmir University, Dr Muhammad Rafi Bhat, the forces fired indiscriminately after coming out from the encounter site.

Rizia, a young girl who cannot forget the volleys of bullets fired on their house by the soldiers, said: “My sister Miema was in a pool of blood and we had to wait for the soldiers to move out and only then we could take her to a Srinagar hospital with great difficulty.” She said that their home was not the only residential place to be fired upon. After the encounter, six civilians were killed and more than hundred were injured.

The students of Pulwama and Shopian, the two worst affected districts, gave an impression that the parents are not allowing their wards to go to schools and colleges due to continuous turmoil. “In most of the schools in Zainapora, Shopian and some areas of Pulwama and Kulgam, only seven to 12 days of formal schooling has been possible this year,” said a senior official of the School Education Department.

Shopian, Pulwama and other parts of South Kashmir are simmering with unrest. It was Burhan Wani from Tral, Pulwama who galvanised young boys to join the terrorist ranks and post his killing in July 2016, the impact was huge. The Army had to start its “Operation All Out” in entire South Kashmir. Since this operation was started, there have been killings of civilians and terrorists in hundreds.

Young girls who go to colleges in South Kashmir are now hoping that the Ramzan ceasefire will be the beginning for them to go back to colleges regularly. “What will happen after Eid is the question we pose to each other,” said a girl student. She told this reporter that their parents will allow them to go to college only after watching how the situation unfolds. If newspaper reports are to be believed, the Union government, the Prime Minister’s Office in particular, was expecting the separatists — and not Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti — would demand ceasefire of anti-terror operations.

These reports said that a top security meeting was held earlier at the PMO and it was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The general view expressed during the meeting was that the separatists would ask for a ceasefire.

But the ground situation in the Kashmir valley forced CM Mehbooba to hold an allparty meeting and discuss the ways to end the cycle of violence. Their main worry was the continuing collateral damage at the encounter sites and the rising graph of civilian killings in South Kashmir.

“Mehbooba Mufti was very keen for some initiative for the ceasefire. Despite all odds, she was able to convince the Central leadership for the announcement of