Kumar Bahukhandi
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is now eyeing the statehood of the state, that is why he is singing praises of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Omar Abdullah’s praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes us back to the era of the Vajpayee government at the Centre – and at the same time, it seems like a major political statement on the current questions being raised on the country’s electoral system.
Kashmir: The indications that Omar Abdullah was giving regarding the relations with the central government before taking oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, now seem to be four steps ahead of that.
From the very beginning, Omar Abdullah was trying to explain that he is not going to clash with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jammu and Kashmir’s Deputy Governor Manoj Sinha and the Bharatiya Janata Party like Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal. When Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister for the first time, one of the tasks in his mind was to get full statehood for Delhi, but who knows when that got lost in the darkness of oblivion.
The way Omar Abdul has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the inauguration of the Sonamarg tunnel, giving him credit for conducting the assembly elections without any disturbance, and the tone in which he is giving credit to Prime Minister Modi for peace, progress and tourism in the state, such praise has not been heard from the mouth of any Kashmiri leader even for former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
People of Kashmir have the same expectations from Modi as from Vajpayee
When the coalition government of PDP and BJP was formed in Jammu and Kashmir, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s words were being recalled on almost every occasion. Whatever Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who became the first Chief Minister of the coalition, was saying, the same thing was also heard from the mouth of Mehbooba Mufti, who later became the Chief Minister of the state.
In fact, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had given the slogan of ‘Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat and Insaaniyat’, which was on the tongue of the people there for a long time. This was repeated again and again till Article 370 was abolished from Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.
Now the way Omar Abdullah is talking about conducting peaceful and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir, and giving credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for it, it is pointing towards new political equations from the land of Jammu and Kashmir.
On the occasion of inauguration of Sonamarg tunnel, Omar Abdullah while referring to the previous visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reminds three things said by him and says that now only one work is left – to give back the full statehood status to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
t is said that you said that you are working on ending Dil ki Doori and Dilli ki Doori… and this is really proved by your work… during that time you had told the people of Jammu and Kashmir that very soon elections will be held and people will get a chance to choose their government through their votes… you kept your word and within four months elections were held… a new government was elected and the result of that is that I am talking to you here as the Chief Minister.
And then coming to the main issue, Prime Minister, you had also promised to restore the state status to Jammu and Kashmir… people keep asking me about this… and I keep reminding them… Prime Minister Modi fulfilled his promise of holding elections… I am confident that soon this promise will also be fulfilled… and Jammu and Kashmir will once again be a princely state of this country.
As if Omar Abdullah is targeting Rahul Gandhi
Listening to Omar Abdullah’s praises for Prime Minister Modi, it seems as if he is wreaking political havoc on the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. He describes the completion of the Sonmarg tunnel project in such a way that it seems that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done that work for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which the previous Congress-led UPA government could not complete. From the tone of his explanation, it sometimes seems as if all this was not included in the priorities of the previous government – Listening to Omar Abdullah’s speech, it seems as if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is on the target.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was saying, people here have been waiting for the tunnel for a long time… Because of this tunnel, now people will not need to leave Sonmarg and come to lower areas in winters… There will be opportunities for tourism here for the entire 12 months… We will be able to develop Sonmarg as a winter tourism destination.
While talking, Omar Abdullah explains that this is a 2012 project. He reminds us of the foundation stone laying ceremony and calls the project a border road project. At that time, the UPA government was in power at the centre. He definitely says that there were many reasons, but the emphasis is on the fact that the project could not be completed. Omar Abdullah says that there were many reasons, the project could not be completed… but then after you (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari took over, the project gained momentum. And it was completed.
It is clear that Omar Abdullah was giving the credit for the completion of the Sonamarg project to the current BJP government at the centre. After all, whom was Omar Abdullah blaming for the non-completion of the Sonamarg tunnel project? There is no doubt that Rahul Gandhi was the target.
And yes, what Omar Abdullah has said about the assembly elections is a big message for all the political parties of the opposition camp. Omar Abdullah says, people participated in the elections in large numbers… and there was no complaint of any kind of rigging or misuse of power anywhere.
In such a situation, when the leaders of the opposition parties are raising questions on EVM, allegations of misuse of government machinery are being made in the by-elections, what is it if not a political statement from the opposition camp praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the mouth of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Iltija Mufti’s taunt on Omar is interesting
While Omar Abdullah was praising Prime Minister Modi, on the other hand, PDP leader and Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti got a chance to pull Omar’s leg. She shared a screenshot of a tweet made by Omar Abdullah before the elections in which Omar is criticizing Modi. Also, Iltija took a dig at Umar’s changing mood by writing the opening line of the 1971 Bollywood film Aap Aaye Bahar Aayi –
Saare zamaane pe mausam suhane pe
Is dil deewane pe, veerani si thi chhai
