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Why Is Ghulam Nabi Azad Toeing BJP's Line on Article 370 in J&K?

Politicians in Kashmir are unsparing in their criticism after Azad said that Article 370 cannot be restored and it was impossible for any party to bring it back.

Srinagar: In his first public appearance in Kashmir on October 20, 2019, after reading down Article 370, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s tactician and then national general secretary Ram Madhav had a blunt piece of advice for the Valley’s detained politicians:

“If you [politicians] want jobs for locals, fight for it and do politics on it. Do politics on early restoration of statehood.” The maiden speech of J&K’s former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Kashmir Valley on Sunday, September 11, after severing his five-decade-old association with Congress was within the “red lines” defined by Madhav on what kind of politics BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) want in “Naya Kashmir”, post August 5, 2019.

In his speech in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Sunday, Azad – who announced the launch of his new political party in J&K – said that Article 370 cannot be restored and it was impossible for any party to bring it back.

Azad’s position on Article 370, an emotive issue for the people of Kashmir and Muslim-dominated areas of Jammu, may not electorally augur well for his yet-to-be-launched political party, whose manifesto would likely to revolve around the restoration of statehood and exclusive rights of locals over jobs and land in J&K.

Speaking to The Wire, former minister and National Conference leader Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi said that Ghulam Nabi Azad’s statement reflected that he wanted the people of J&K should accept the abrogation of Article 370 as a “new normal” and “forget” their constitutional rights and “live at the whims” of RSS and BJP.

“These politicians want to tell Kashmiris to accept the removal of Article 370 as a fait accompli now and they don’t have the spine, vigour and vision to fight for its restoration. They don’t see themselves as representatives of the wishes and constitutional rights guaranteed to the people of J&K,” he said.

Security personnel stand guard on a street during restrictions imposed in the wake of the first anniversary of the Article 370 move, in Srinagar, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Photo: PTI

Ruhullah, a three-time legislator, said “these politicians behave like a bunch of opportunists who want to grab and make best of opportunity to reach to the power corridors”. “Ghulam Nabi Azad and other politicians who speak of this language need to be reminded that the constitution of India doesn’t mandate the parliament to take decisions of such nature regarding states and more so about J&K without consultation, approval and concurrence of the state assembly,” he said.

Mehdi, a powerful Shia leader, who has been vocal about the restoration of Article 370, said that instead of telling the people of J&K to be content with this “humiliation”, Ghulam Nabi Azad should instead take on the might of BJP and RSS and remind them how they violated the constitution of India and removed Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

“People of J&K are not spineless like these politicians, who consider themselves as their leaders. The people of J&K will fight for the restoration of their rights as the constitution of India guaranteed them,” he said.

Former MP and senior Congress leader Tariq Hamid Karra said that Azad was endorsing and reiterating the BJP’s stand on Article 370.

Former Union minister Prof. Saifuddin Soz said that he was sad that many people in the J&K state had realised that “the narrative of Ghulam Nabi Azad is no different from the narrative of the Bharatiya Janata Party”.

“To the best of my knowledge, the Central government had no authority to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution of India on August 5, 2019, unilaterally. The Central government did it (abrogated Article 370) because it believes more in muscle power rather than in the constitutional values,” he said.

The fallout of Azad’s stance

Many political observers feel that Azad’s stand on Article 370 may not go well in Kashmir Valley and could dent the electoral prospects of his party.

Professor Noor Ahmad Baba, former dean of social sciences at the Central University of Kashmir, said that Azad’s stand on the issue may not be likened to Kashmir, but it seems he doesn’t want to alienate some degree of goodwill for him in New Delhi and in certain sections of Jammu.

“He is talking cautiously on Article 370, but it may alienate people in the Valley,” he said.

Baba said there was some degree of goodwill for Ghulam Nabi Azad in Kashmir, but his main constituency is in Jammu. “He is trying to address that constituency,” he said.

However, noted political commentator, Prof. Rekha Choudhary said that Azad was trying to move away from the controversial identity politics of J&K.

“If he would have talked about the restoration of Article 370, he would have been at the risk of losing his constituency in other parts of J&K (Jammu mainland),” she said.

Azad’s resignation may have triggered a vertically split Congress unit in J&K, but certain powerful leaders are still with the grand old party.

Congress leaders like Vikar Rasool (Banihal segment), Ghulam Ahmad Mir (Dooru) and Shanawaz Choudhary (Surankote) are still capable of winning their seats.

The electoral prospects of Azad’s yet-to-be-launched political outfit in his native Chenab Valley don’t seem bright due to gerrymandering of electoral constituencies to the advantage of BJP.

In the eight assembly segments of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts, the Hindu population is in a commanding position in five seats (Doda West, Ramban, Padder- Nagseni, Bhadarwah and Kishtwar).

In the last assembly election in 2014, BJP had won four out of six seats in the region due to the fragmentation of Muslim votes. The region had only six seats in 2014 and two seats were increased by the delimitation commission constituted by the Government.

In the Pir Panchal region spread over Rajouri and Poonch districts, the Hindu population is in numerical advantage in three constituencies (Nowshera, Kalakote-Sunderbani and Rajouri).

Hindu leaders like Tara Chand, Dr. Manohar Lal and others, who deserted Congress and joined the Azad camp, failed to ensure the victory of their party on any seat in Jammu and Kathua during the district development council polls held in 2020. All 26 winners of Congress in the DDC election were Muslims.

In Kashmir Valley, former minister Taj Mohiuddin and former MLAs Muhammad Amin Bhat, Gulzar Ahmad Wani, Abdur Rashid Dar may have joined the Azad-led outfit but winning the election for them won’t be easy as their opponents have started to dub their party as BJP’s B-team.

Moreover, Azad has not been able to attract major faces from non-Congress parties in Jammu or Kashmir so far.

This success of his party depends more on defections he manages from other political parties.

Azad mum on BJP’s policy in Kashmir

In his public gatherings in Jammu & Kashmir after his exit from Congress, Azad has been silent on BJP’s policies in J&K for the past four years, raising certain questions.

Ghulam Nabi Azad and others during a public meeting in Baramulla District of North Kashmir, September 11, 2022. Photo: PTI/S. Irfan

Jammu & Kashmir is under the direct rule of the BJP-led Union government since June 19, 2018 when it withdrew support from Mehbooba Mufti-led government, citing a “deteriorating security situation” in the state.

In his speeches, Azad has been unsparing Congress in his criticism for “sidelining” and “humiliating” its senior leaders.

On the other hand, Congress and Altaf Bukhari’s Apni Party have accused Azad of being in cahoots with BJP. Bukhari even accused Azad of supporting abrogation of the Article 370 in the parliament.

Interestingly, the Peoples Alliance of Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) is adopting silence on Ghulam Nabi Azad’s political moves in the UT.

Azad’s camp speaks

When contacted, former minister Taj Mohiuddin said that Article 370 cannot be restored through the parliament as “we don’t have required 2/3rd strength in both the Houses.”

“He (Azad) was talking about the restoration of Article 370 through the parliament and not through the court. All our hopes are on the Supreme Court,” he said, adding that they will pursue the matter in the court.

He said they don’t have any understanding with the BJP. “There is no question of allying with the BJP for government formation. I would be the first person to quit the party if it allies with the BJP,” he said.

Umer Maqbool is an independent journalist based in Srinagar.


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