Rajeev Kumar Nagotra
Wannabe lawmakers of the J&K Assembly have been addressing their constituents in small gatherings across the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. BJP candidates are trying to flaunt their party’s mentionable work while the rest are trying to woo the public with their shared disdain for the same. Both are facing an uphill task.
Opposition obviously does not have much to highlight except disdain and frustration, so their manifesto carries only the things that the government has done and they plan to undo, repeal or discontinue. Regressive as it may sound, Congress has promised to remove the Smart Meters! For constitution’s sake, if anything, they should have promised to bring down the electricity tariffs. Removing the Smart Meters sounds like returning to the stone age. Similarly NC and PDP are making preposterous promises of undoing the developments following the J&K Reorganization Bill 2019. BJP has managed to put together a list of things it did well, but is feeling challenged by the opposition brandishing an even longer list of the things which should not have been done, or could have been done or could have been done in a better way.
Anyway, the voter has no misgivings. In the multi party system of our state, the voter has only two broad choices. One is a coterie of dynasts and shadowy characters who have cultivated, harvested and prospered from the crop of terror, mistrust, discrimination, corruption and backwardness in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. They had failed to establish a just and egalitarian administration, one that could have helped people build a bright and prosperous future for their children and . Instead they got the youth hooked on the opium of hatred, separatism, bloodbath and pushed them down an unending spiral of uncertainty. This led to the securitization of the entire region causing tremors of international scale. By oppressing the people constantly with an existential threat, this set of politicians had succeeded in shifting their focus away from socio-economic issues of infrastructure, education, healthcare, skill development, employment, entrepreneurship and art and culture. The common people who could afford would send their children outside the state for education as well as employment leaving a demographic void back home which again became an advantage point for the trouble makers.
It is with brazenness unparalleled that all Kashmir based parties and their national sympathiser, Indian National Congress, are promising a return to pre 2019 status of the state in their respective manifestos. Whether indeed Jammu Kashmir wishes to return to the culture of stone-pelting, hartals, bandhs, deaths, disappearances, fear and mistrust will be decided by the results of the ongoing elections.
The opposite pole of the field is held by the BJP. The party has demonstrated resolve to take bold decisions, create historic opportunities and offer lasting hope for peace and stability in the region. They started their second term at the center with the removal of the draconian Article 370. However, they could not find an able administrator to wade the state through the delicate period of transition post abrogation of Article 370 and its conversion to a UT. The Central Government showed the best of intentions and brought in the finest of the policies to assuage the sufferings of the people of this disturbed area but the bureaucracy could not rise up to the occasion and keep pace with the momentum of intended transformation. Apparently, not everyone can work 18 hours a day the way the Prime Minister does. The development campaigns with the highest optical value, such as roads and tunnels, have been undertaken more sincerely than the reform campaigns needed in the local administration and governing bodies. As expected, Jammu has suffered more due to this misgovernment than Kashmir. The restoration of iconic Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex continues to miss deadlines after deadlines. The Tawi lake project seems to be waiting for the river to disappear like the river Saraswati. The Smart City project has made Jammu a laughing stock from every dimension of urban planning. While the valley remained mostly peaceful since the BJP came to power 5 years ago, Jammu became the hotbed of terror strikes and, surprisingly, the administration could not bring one single perpetrator to justice and prayed for the feeble public memory to forget the incidents and move on.
Had the babus, including the one occupying the LG’s chair and the elected representatives of the urban and rural local bodies performed their duties with integrity and austerity, BJP would have confidently fielded its candidates in Kashmir for the Parliamentary elections and faced less public ire in Jammu. In this sense, perhaps, the assembly elections are as much a need of the Modi Government as of the people of J&K. With a popular government in place, it will be easier to fix responsibility and demand productivity.
In conclusion, it helps to weigh the two choices people have before them. On one hand there is definite evidence of administrative glitches and neglect of public grievances, on the other there is this time/terror machine that promises to take us back to the dark ages. On one hand there are issues of corruption that can be circumvented around by going 100 percent digital and reducing human interference, on the other there are these stooges who make talks with Pakistan a pre-condition for anything to happen at all in the state. On one hand there is a well meaning political leadership that wants to take the people of J&K along in the story of Bharat reclaiming the status of Vishwaguru and world’s leading economy, on the other there is this group of politicians who want to keep the pot boiling in the subcontinent. On one hand, there is this vision of bringing powerful brands like IIT, AIIMS and IIM to Jammu, on the other there is the politics of Intefada and culture of closures and bankruptcy. On one hand, there is the political will to hound out the traitors and terrorists, on the other there is a track record of glorification and incentivization of gun culture. On one hand, there is an attempt to provide equitable development to all regions and communities of J&K, on the other there is this tendency to appropriate everything and hijack the historical and cultural narrative.
The correct choice is looking at us with optimism. We must reciprocate and vote judiciously.
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