Though National Conference Vice President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is known for his tweets against the BJP and the incumbent central government on policies and stands over Kashmir but last week Omar asked Imran Khan led government in Pakistan to address India’s concerns on Kashmir the way Union Home Minister or Foreign Minister of India issues a statement against Pakistan. The deviation in Omar Abdullah’s tweet shows a shift in his concerns from the conduct of Modi Government on dealing with Kashmir situation to Pakistan’s role in Kashmir and even naives can understand that a sudden shift in Omar’s responses is to appease the incumbent Modi government in Delhi. Unfortunately Omar is not as much a pro-active critic of the Modi government as he was before the fall of Mehbooba government in June this year. The deviation in remarks of any top leader of any political party always means a shift in the policy of his party and Omar’s remark too shows a shift in the policy of his party National Conference. Interestingly Omar’s Father Farooq Abdullah was the only mainstream political leader to greet the incumbent Governor Satya Pal Malik on his arrival at Srinagar airport before his oath taking ceremony in June this year as if he was occupying the position of Chief Minister in the state. Even naives can understand that the appeasement of Modi Government by Omar and his father Farooq Abdullah is their desperate attempt to regain the control over the power corridors of the state even at the cost of the political ideology of their party.
While Omar through his tweet has tried to push to corner the Imran Khan led Government in Pakistan over its responses to the concerns of India on Kashmir, his father Farooq Abdullah in one of his recent statements has hit out at Congress for its role in Kashmir politics during last seventy years and as such it is obviously clear that the tweet of Omar and the statement of Farooq Abdullah show overt and covert support to Modi Government’s stand on India-Pakistan relations over Kashmir and as well as its handling of the current phase of public unrest in Kashmir.
Had Omar Abdullah learnt lessons from the outright rejection of her party’s demand on Article 35 A and boycott of the civic elections in the state, he would have asked Modi government to address the concerns of the people of Jammu & Kashmir state on article 35 A instead of diverting the attention of the people in rest of the country from concerns of Kashmiri’s on article 35 A to the outcome of unwanted municipal elections which have witnessed just 3-4% turn out. While Omar through his tweet has tried to push to corner the Imran Khan led Government in Pakistan over its responses to the concerns of India on Kashmir, his father Farooq Abdullah in one of his recent statements has hit out at Congress for its role in Kashmir politics during last seventy years and as such it is obviously clear that the tweet of Omar and the statement of Farooq Abdullah show overt and covert support to Modi Government’s stand on India-Pakistan relations over Kashmir and as well as its handling of the current phase of public unrest in Kashmir.