JK NEWS TODAY Opinion
Binoo Joshi
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s one-day visit of Kashmir on Tuesday would be remembered not only for what he said, but also for what he did .
He convinced the political parties of futility of their boycott-the-polls politics .He , in his own style , cautioned them against pursuing this kind of politics that could have consequences for them in future.
His grand appreciation for the “peaceful and historic municipal polls” held across the State, where several parts of north Kashmir , Jammu and Ladakh voted in surprisingly high numbers was a polished reminder to the People’s Democratic Party , National Conference and other parties in the Valley that they had missed the bus . He added it carefully , that if they don’t want to regret further, and it would be better for them to join the carnival of democracy.
With his visit and words, the pieces of the puzzle have fallen in place that the National Conference, PDP and other parties that boycotted the municipal polls over Article 35 A was a sheer political escapism . First, these parties were scared of the violent atmosphere in the Valley and they were also deeply shy of facing the separatists who had already given the poll-boycott call. Instead of standing on their political ideology , these groups surrendered to them.
At the moment, these parties have landed themselves in a nowhere-to-go –zone. They are unable to devise their path .
Sensing their dilemma , Home Minister made an appeal to them to contest the ongoing panchayat polls. He has offered them an escape route to rediscover their relevance . NC and PDP would do better to heed this advice and see merit in it for themselves instead of being the parties that will get consumed in their own self-annihilating policies of staying away from the polls.
In a democratic set up , the political parties are supposed to be committed to the democratic norms, which come to them after regular spells of elections. That is where their commitment to the democracy and ideologies that they pursue are tested . The elections provide them an opportunity to debate the issues and fight for the overall development and welfare of the people . But NC and PDP let down the people .
Now Kashmir Panchayat elections is an opportunity for them to prove that they have some interest left in the democracy . Home Minister has offered them a route by his appeal . One hopes that they would heed the same.
