THE statement of Congress leader Mr. Rahul Gandhi
that the I.N.D.I. Alliance would restore statehood
to Jammu and Kashmir if elected to power is simply meaningless as an electoral narrative. For, even
as it withdrew Special Status to Kashmir by abrogating Articles 370 and 35 A of the Constitution, the Narendra
Modi Government, too, had made a similar commitment -
- that it would restore statehood to J&K once the conditions
are found suitable. Thus, the emphatic statement by Mr.
Rahul Gandhi about the I.N.D.I.A. bloc restoring statehood
to Kashmir has no actual meaning in practical politics.
Yet, when Mr. Rahul Gandhi makes the assertion repeatedly, he is only making clear his electoral strategy for the
forthcoming legislative elections in Jammu and Kashmir -
- which is currently a Union Territory. As per that ideation,
it appears that Mr. Rahul Gandhi believes that if a lie is told
repeatedly then the common, unsuspecting people would
believe that the Central Government is unwilling to grant
to statehood to Kashmir and that the Opposition will restore
it the moment it comes to power. Put in other words, this
approach also indicates Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s belief that the
common voters do not think deeply.
No matter the political detail in Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s head,
it is obvious he is trying to spread a narrative that has actually got no meaning in electoral campaign. For, on this
count, there appears no difference between the Modi
Government and the Opposition. Both agree that restoration of statehood to J&K is only a matter of time.
The trouble is, however, with the Opposition assertion
that it would restore Special Status to Kashmir.
This issue,
too, will not earn popular acceptance because the Kashmir
region has seen the good effects of abrogation of Special
Status in the past five years. The Kashmir region is breathing far more freely than before; its public life has returned
to near-normal with every sector including entertainment
operating without any hitch (which was never the case earlier). The people’s participation in an open socio-commercial life has become a matter of boon for the region -- which
has become possible only because Special Status has been
abrogated and that normal activities have been restored.
When this is the social reality of Kashmir, the Opposition
is not likely to attain an extra leverage by talking about restoration of Special Status to the region. In fact, such a stance is
far more likely to bring much electoral disadvantage to the
Opposition. Yet, Mr. Rahul Gandhi and other leaders of the
Opposition camp are all the time insisting that they would
restore Special Status to Jammu and Kashmir region .
Should that be construed as playing in the hands of powers that operate from across the international border? Given
the current political scenario, such a possibility cannot be
altogether ruled out. For, some Opposition leaders have been
on record urging the Pakistanis to help the Opposition in
removing Mr. Narendra Modi from prime ministership. If
this is the way the Opposition thinks, then something is
very seriously wrong with its thought-process.
This ‘wrong’ has to be addressed -- electorally as well as
culturally. The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies have the
wherewithal to tackle the issue. But what is happening on
the actual ground of reality of Kashmir is that the BJP has
not been able to assert itself as against the cantankerous
politics of Mr. Rahul Gandhi. But this is the need for the
hour for the BJP to insist upon exposing the falsehood in
the Opposition narrative and bring to fore the right and
authentic stance that has made a positive difference to
Kashmir and its people. If the BJP succeeds in getting across
such a counter-narrative, it would make the grade.