By IANS,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s comments about a “governance deficit” in Kashmir was seen by many as a clear signal for 40-year-old Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to quit. But then stepped in the Congress ‘baba log’, at the forefront being Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul, also 40, rallied behind him, pleading for “support and time” for Omar to do his “tough job” in Kashmir. Insiders recall that Britain-born Omar had built a good rapport with the US-educated Rahul – both born of foreign women who had adopted Indian citizenship – during the former’s 10-year-stay as an MP and union minister in the capital.
Other young leaders of the Congress – popularly referred to as ‘baba log’ due to their dynastic pedigree, including Jyotiraditya Scindia and Milind Deora – too lobbied hard for Omar’s continuation. Was it out of a sense of kinship with a young politician coming from a political family just like them?
And yes, Sachin Pilot, minister and brother-in-law of Omar Abdullah, and Pilot’s wife Sarah too pitched in.