Before his August 5 detention last year the National Conference Vice President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah used to tweet thrice or four times a day on local politics and the key decisions of the government concerning working of the institutions in erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state but after his release from several months of detention under Public Safety Act (PSA) in March this year Omar only tweets about the politics of other states and issues of global concern. Question can be asked that what prompts Omar to tweet about the issues of other states and matters of global concerns when the people of Jammu & Kashmir want him to focus his attention on the issues concerning their basic citizenship rights in view of the central government’s nonstop moves of enforcing more and more provocative central laws in Jammu & Kashmir ? Farooq Abdullah stoking controversies by speaking bluntly against last year’s August 5 decisions of the incumbent central government but Omar restraining himself from any critical statements on central government’s last year August 5 moves on erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state sends out a message that Omar Abdullah is reluctant to endorse the views of his own father Farooq Abdullah on a highly contentious issue like withdrawal of statehood and special status to erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state. Question can also be asked that if Omar does not endorse the views of his own father on last year’s August 5 decisions, how come the people of Jammu & Kashmir would expect him to endorse their core sentiments on enforcement provocative citizenship laws and why should people take the critical remarks of Farooq Abdullah serious on central government’s last year’s August 5 decisions?
Mainstream politicians will have to muster the courage to show their cadre strength by reaching out to people at the grass roots as otherwise the resumption of political activities and revival mainstream politics won’t prove a cake walk for them in the years to come. Obviously the fear of public anger is forcing top mainstream leaders restrain themselves from moving out to districts to reconnect themselves with the people at grass roots.
Interestingly Omar was at the centre of a controversy over his remark on contesting assembly elections even without the restoration of statehood to Jammu & Kashmir just two months ago but he instead of withdrawing his controversial remarks choose to remain silent. While Farooq Abdullah has stepped out many a times to reach out to his workers in different districts, Omar Abdullah is restraining his political activities to four walls of his residential house at Gupkar and party’s Nawai Subh office at zero bridge Srinagar. Omar started working from his Gupkar house this week with the cutting of a cake jointly with his father Farooq Abdullah. In the prevailing political environment no politician can change the course of Jammu & Kashmir politics by working from his office. Politics is about cadres but not about computers and high speed internet facilities. Instead of reaching out to his party cadres in the districts Omar Abdullah is summoning his cadres to party’s Nawai Subh office just for uploading the photos of meets and statements on twitter and facebook the two top social media sites. The lukewarm response of the people even to the critical remarks of Farooq Abdullah on withdrawal of statehood and special status is an indication that politics can’t be run on tweets by mainstream politicians from their cozy bed rooms. Mainstream politicians will have to muster the courage to show their cadre strength by reaching out to people at the grass roots as otherwise the resumption of political activities and revival mainstream politics won’t prove a cake walk for them in the years to come. Obviously the fear of public anger is forcing top mainstream leaders restrain themselves from moving out to districts to reconnect themselves with the people at grass roots.
