Farooq won146;t commit too soon

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has rushed to New Delhi to assess the uncertain political situation at the Centre. Gujarat hasn1...

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah has rushed to New Delhi to assess the uncertain political situation at the Centre. Gujarat hasn8217;t cast any shadow so far on the party8217;s ties with the BJP, but the pressure exerted by certain NDA partners on Vajpayee has put the party in a fix.

8216;8216;We are seriously of the view that Modi should immediately go,8217;8217; said the NC MP from Baramulla, A R Shaheen. 8216;8216;It8217;s a very serious issue but we have not taken any decision regarding the fate of our ties with the BJP. Such decisions are taken by our working committee. Our leader is in the capital and he will have a meeting with us MPs,8217;8217; he said.

Party general secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmad too said it was up to the working committee; the NC is basically waiting and watching. 8216;8216;Where is principled politics now? If TDP withdraws support, BSP and others are already ready to join in,8217;8217; said Ahmad.

Actually, the working committee has little to do with all this. It8217;s Farooq, and Farooq alone, who will take the decision. And observers here believe he is not going to walk out of the NDA unless he is sure that the government will fall. If the BJP wins in the number game, Farooq will be very reluctant to snap his ties with the party on any ideological or moral grounds.

In fact, the ties between the NC and the NDA government had got strained when the Centre summarily rejected its autonomy resolution which was passed by the assembly but Farooq prefered to stay with the NDA 8212; of course, with one eye on the fact that his son, Omar, is the minister of state for external affairs. The autonomy issue is at the core of the party8217;s existence and was its main poll pank in the 1996 assembly elections which the party won with a two-third majority. This, however, didn8217;t influence Farooq8217;s decision at all.

Earlier, when Farooq decided to forge an alliance with the BJP at the Centre for the first time, the only voice of dissent was that of former Union minister, Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz. He was immediately expelled. This time there is tremendous pressure on Farooq from within the party. Most of the senior leaders are feeling embarrassed for not coming out openly on the Gujarat issue.

Muzamil Jaleel

Muzamil Jaleel is a Deputy Editor at The Indian Express and is widely recognized as one of India’s most authoritative voices on Jammu & Kashmir, national security, and internal affairs. With a career spanning over 30 years, he has provided definitive on-the-ground reportage from the heart of the Kashmir conflict, bearing witness to historic political transitions and constitutional shifts. Expertise and Investigative Depth Muzamil’s work is characterized by a rare combination of ground-level immersion and high-level constitutional analysis. His expertise includes: Conflict & Geopolitics: Decades of reporting on the evolution of the Kashmir conflict, the Indo-Pak peace process, and the socio-political dynamics of the Himalayan region. Constitutional Law: Deep-dive analysis of Article 370 and Article 35A, providing clarity on the legal and demographic implications of their abrogation in 2019. Human Rights & Accountability: A relentless investigator of state and non-state actors, uncovering systemic abuses including fake encounters and the custodial death of political workers. International War Reporting: Beyond South Asia, he provided on-the-spot coverage of the final, decisive phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. Landmark Exposés & Impact Muzamil’s reporting has repeatedly forced institutional accountability and shaped national discourse: The Kashmir Sex Scandal (2006): His investigative series exposed a high-profile exploitation nexus involving top politicians, bureaucrats, and police officers, leading to the sacking and arrest of several senior officials. Fake Encounters: His reports blew the lid off cases where innocent civilians were passed off as "foreign terrorists" by security forces for gallantry awards. SIMI Investigations: He conducted a massive deep-dive into the arrests of SIMI members, using public records to show how innocuous religious gatherings were often labeled as incriminating activities by investigative agencies. The Amarnath Land Row: Provided critical context to the 2008 agitation that polarized the region and altered its political trajectory. Over the years, Muzamil has also covered 2002 Gujarat riots, Bhuj earthquake, assembly elections in Bihar for Indian Express. He has also reported the peace process in Northern Ireland, war in Sri Lanka and national elections in Pakistan for the paper. Awards and Fellowships His "Journalism of Courage" has been honored with the industry's most prestigious accolades: Four Ramnath Goenka Awards: Recognized for J&K Reportage (2007), On-the-Spot Reporting (2009), and Reporting on Politics and Government (2012, 2017). Kurt Schork Award: From Columbia University for international journalism. Sanskriti Award: For excellence in Indian journalism and literature. IFJ Tolerance Prize: For his empathetic and nuanced reporting in South Asia. International Fellowships: Served as a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley and worked with The Guardian, The Observer, and The Times in London. He has also received Chevening fellowship and a fellowship at the Institute of Social Studies, Hague, Netherlands. Professional Presence Current Location: New Delhi (formerly Bureau Chief, Srinagar). Education: Master’s in Journalism from Kashmir University. Social Media: Follow him for field insights and rigorous analysis on X (Twitter) @MuzamilJALEEL. ... Read More