By News Agency of Kashmir
Srinagar: The five and half year old coalition regime in Jammu and Kashmir is finally trembling. If one goes with the developments within Peoples Democratic Party and Congress the transfer of land controversy may finally prove a last nail in the coalition coffin.
As the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is all set to decide the fate of coalition government when its legislatures would meet in Srinagar on June 30, Congress has also hardened its stand over the matter.
Sources said that PDP leadership was contemplating to pre-pone the legislative party meeting in view of the recent developments especially hardened stand of Congress, firing on the protestors and unrest across Kashmir Valley.
Well informed sources told News Agency of Kashmir that former chief minister and PDP Patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed has been advised by his close aides that the party shall not compromise on the matter in any case as it would be suicidal for the party in the upcoming assembly elections.
Meanwhile, rejecting the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s idea of convening an all party meeting over the issue, the PDP Patron today hardened his stand and said that his party would not be satisfied in any thing short of cancellation of the order is offered at this stage.
“It is too late for any such consultation now and if at all the consultation was needed at political level, it should have been done before the issuance of the order”, the PDP patron, in a statement said here today. “Responding to the public sentiment, the Government must cancel the order immediately,” he said and added that the diversion of land to SASB is only an administrative order that can be nullified by another such order.
“The issuance of the land diversion order is a collective decision of the Government and we are not into any blame-game or post mortem,” Sayeed said and added that a situation has arisen in the State because of the order which is very critical and it must be responded to beyond the party politics.
“To me the best course would be to revoke the order and discuss the whole issue in a cool and considered manner,” he said and added that as chief minister he resisted efforts of land transfer to SASB as he knew the consequences.
The PDP Patron said it is, perhaps, for the first time that the civil society in Kashmir has reacted so unitedly and effectively to a non-political, non-communal concern like environment and ecology. “We should not dub it anything religious or communal as that would be falling into a trap,” he said and added the present scenario represents a positive shift in the people’s mindset which should not be waylaid.
Sayeed said land is an emotive issue everywhere. “Take the example of Nandigram in West Bengal which created so much of tension and violence,” he said and added that although there was no religious angle to the present situation in Kashmir, but still some quarters are trying to project it like that. “The present situation can’t be allowed to dither any more as it could threaten the gains of the peace process that we have painstakingly made over the past six years,” he said.
“Although I have been repeatedly cautioning about the overbearing and pro-active activities of the SASB, unfortunately, that note of caution was used not only to malign me personally and question my secular credentials, but a virtual gang-up of different parties throughout the State was engineered to scuttle any positive intervention on behalf of the Government,” Sayeed said and added that the results of the pro-active attitude of the SASB authorities is now evident.
“The prevailing situation is holding a daunting challenge for us and I am sure with good sense prevailing on the Government, it would be defused immediately,” he said.