NEW DELHI, JUNE 26: The Centre will wait for the Committee of Secretaries to submit its verdict on the Jammu and Kashmir Autonomy Report before it reacts to the resolution passed by the state Assembly on Monday.Since the Committee has no deadline for the submission of its report, the Government can hide behind this fig leaf to try and put the autonomy issue on a slow burner.At the same time, what seems to have escaped notice in the heat and dust generated by the debate in the J&K assembly is the fact that the state government chose to introduce a resolution, not a Bill. It seems to have been a deliberate move so as not to up the ante to the point of confrontation with the Centre.Official sources pointed out that it is not incumbent on the Government to act on a resolution as this is considered merely a recommendation or a demand by the state Assembly. On the other hand, had the Assembly passed a Bill, the Centre would have been forced to take a stand since the Bill would have had to be referred to Parliament for ratification. Such a situation could have snowballed into a constitutional crisis.Significantly, in Delhi last week, J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had categorically ruled out the introduction of an autonomy Bill, saying, ``Where is the need for a bill?'' This was seen as an indication of his desire to avoid a showdown with the Centre which in turn gave Abdullah political elbow room in the state by hinting that the demand for autonomy should not be rejected out of hand.It is also interesting that the Centre chose to hand the autonomy report to a Committee of Secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary. A committee of secretaries, consisting of approximately 10 to 15 secretaries to the Government of India, need not be set a deadline for the submission of a report. It also has flexible membership and its discussions and report are privileged information, not for circulation. It is a classic tactic used by the Centre to push delicate and embarrassing issues out of public sight.Having scored brownie points with his constituency in the Valley by waving the autonomy flag, Abdullah is now on firmer footing. His gambit may also have succeeded in scuttling the proposed dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference. Although Abdullah claimed otherwise, it was clear that he had no intention of allowing the Home Ministry-the most enthusiastic supporter of the dialogue-to prop up a political alternative to the National Conference in the state.
