National Conference’s manifesto in which the party talks about resolution in the would-be Assembly for restoration of Article 370 has come under fire from BJP for the saffron party claims that such a narrative would bring back dark days of terror violence and stone throwing back to Jammu and Kashmir. There is a lot of contradiction, both in the manifesto and the criticism launched against it.
Top leadership of the National Conference is aware that the restoration of Article 370 that granted special status and some exclusive privileges to the erstwhile permanent residents of the erstwhile state will never come back, neither in its original form as was the case when it was inserted in the Indian Constitution, nor in its hollowed form prior to its abrogation of August 5, 2019. This is just a slogan, which is hollower than with any substance, and more than NC, the people know it that such a proposition is out of question in the given situation and mood in the country. Today Narendra Modi and Amit Shah who did all this in August 2019 are back at the helm of affairs and even if Congress or other Opposition parties ever come to power after the next general elections in 2029, they too cannot go against the tide as the nation is happy and convinced that abrogation of Article 370 saved Kashmir for India as otherwise it would have gone to Pakistan. This is not just a notion but belief in the majority of the population of the country. Congress has avoided taking risk of talking about the restoration of Article 370. The party’s vocal leader Rahul Gandhi, who speaks on almost all issues has avoided any references to Article 370 in any of his speeches or conversations.
It was a compulsion for the National Conference about it as it had no other issue that could appeal to the party cadre – the question before it was, fight for what. The would be Assembly in the Union Territory of J&K, with all powers vested in the Lieutenant Governor, is for all practical purposes, going to be a powerless institution but some narration was needed as the issues of “ road connectivity, electricity and water” have outlived their utility. In the given circumstances, in which optics are preferred over the real-time narratives, these things are never going to happen in J&K.
So, the National Conference discovered a lot of merit in resurrecting the issue of Article 370 , It is a narration that will set a stage for it to talk about the identity and dignity of Kashmir, its cultural and social ethos. It was also aware that BJP would pounce on it – saffron party has started criticizing Article 370 – it is however ironic that it is whipping dead horse as it claims that the particular Article is dead and buried forever. It is an amusing scenario. BJP’s criticism which is now audible in its press conferences, speeches of leaders and social media platforms is working to the advantage of pro-Article 370 political groupings as that is giving them some idea that it might happen. BJP is obscuring its own real-time claims to use this as a polarizing tool, scaring its voters that if NC, now aligned with Congress, comes to power it will destroy everything that has been brought about in Kashmir, peace, normalcy and tourism. This is illogical because the parliamentary arithmetic today or tomorrow will never allow that to happen. BJP is defying as much logic as National Conference and each seeking political dividend through imaginary scenarios .
The real danger is that such a narration and counter narration on Article 370 can cause communal polarization, which will have long-term consequences. J&K cannot afford such political experiments the result of which is going to hurt the territory more in the days to come. Political leaders would have played their game, but the people will continue to suffer.
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