Anita Katyal | Omar Needs A Balancing Act; Centre Keeping An Eye on Yogi?

Though Opposition leaders have extended full support to the Narendra Modi government for any action it plans following the horrific Pahalgam terrorist attack, the all-party meeting called last week by Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah turned out to be a stormy affair. Angry Opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and others, wanted accountability for the intelligence failure which cost 26 innocent citizens their lives. Pinning the blame on the Centre, they said, it could not shirk its responsibility as security and law and order in Jammu and Kashmir is now handled by New Delhi and not the state government. Continuing in the same vein, Opposition leaders also expressed their displeasure at the Central government and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s failure to acknowledge the help extended by local Kashmiris in this time of crisis. They further castigated the government for not taking timely measures to protect Kashmiri students and others being attacked in different parts of the country. Pushed on the defensive, the government admitted there had been an intelligence lapse and that an inquiry would be conducted to look into it.

Last week’s dastardly terror attack at Pahalgam spells further trouble for Omar Abdullah, chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Already under pressure from his party cadre and a restive public, it will become increasingly hard for Mr Abdullah to strike a balance between appeasing his base and maintaining a working relationship with the Modi government. Mr Abdullah can ill-afford to isolate himself or adopt a contrary position now when it is imperative to support New Delhi’s response to the latest terror killings. The demand for the restoration of statehood will also have to wait as Mr Abdullah needs the Centre on his side at this critical juncture. At the same time, Mr Abdullah cannot be seen to be kowtowing to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government as it would end up stirring further dissension within the National Conference whose rank and file is already upset for it believes the chief minister is cosying up to the BJP and not pushing the Centre hard enough on the demand for statehood. Mr Abdullah’s wishy-washy stand on restoration of Article 370 and, more recently, the Waqf Act, has further infuriated the National Conference cadre while providing ready ammunition to the Opposition to attack him. The last straw was his stroll in the Tulip Gardens with Kiran Rijiju, Union minister for minority affairs, who piloted the Waqf Bill in Parliament.

Following its decision to focus on the party organisation, the Congress leadership recently unveiled a freshly-minted plan to strengthen the district committees by giving them more powers and involving them in the selection of candidates for their respective areas. Gujarat has been handpicked as the first state for this experiment and a beginning was made recently with the appointment of observers for the selection and appointment of presidents of the 41 district Congress committees. But two weeks after this announcement, these grand plans have run into trouble. The party’s state leaders are said to be unhappy over the appointment of observers by the AICC as they believe their wings are being clipped. As a result, the observers from the state unit have been leaning on their colleagues, appointed by the AICC, to select candidates of their choice so that they can retain control over the party apparatus. With the state leaders unwilling to let go, the AICC observers are in a fix as they have been instructed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to take independent decisions.

If the latest bureaucratic reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh is any indication, it would appear that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top leadership is foraying into chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s territory. In particular, the decision to move out Kaushal Raj Sharma, divisional commissioner of Varanasi division, and information director Shishir Singh, has sparked off endless speculation in Lucknow and beyond. Having served in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency for over five years, Mr Sharma is learnt to have earned the PM’s trust. The fact that he has now been appointed secretary to Yogi Adityanath in the chief minister’s office has predictably lent credence to the whisper campaign in Lucknow’s political circles that this move will enable the Centre to exercise greater control over the chief minister’s office. Shishir Singh was known to be Yogi Adityanath’s favourite and served in the key post of information director for seven years. He was replaced by Vishal Singh, district magistrate, Bhadoi before which he was Ayodhya Development Authority when the Ram Temple was under construction. Mr Singh is also said to be the Centre’s candidate but since he is a Thakur, it is hoped the chief minister will not be unhappy with his appointment.

Former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s daughter Harshita’s wedding was recently held at Kapurthala House, the official residence of Punjab chief minister in Delhi. A few years ago, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha’s engagement ceremony with actor Parineeti Chopra was also held at the same venue. This has not gone unnoticed by the Opposition in Punjab who have been taking potshots at chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for converting an official residence into a “baraat ghar”.