The unity dividend

The days following last Sunday8217;s terrorist strike at Raghunath Temple in Jammu have witnessed a war of words over the release of prison...

The days following last Sunday8217;s terrorist strike at Raghunath Temple in Jammu have witnessed a war of words over the release of prisoners in J038;K. While the NDA government and, more specifically, the Union home minister has maintained that the state government ignored the Centre8217;s advice cautioning it against such release, the Congress party and the Mufti government have maintained that no release was made without due diligence and official clearance. That the controversy was threatening to spin out of control was worrisome. As these columns had pointed out, when it comes to fighting terrorism, India is one and should be seen as acting as one.

This is why J038;K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed8217;s speech winding up the debate on the governor8217;s address in the assembly is noteworthy. Mufti struck a welcome note of accommodation when he observed that the 8216;prime minister and deputy prime minister realise the ground situation and we have complete understanding on how to deal with the situation8217;.

Here is recognition that the J038;K government cannot be seen as acting on its own and that it is dependent, at various levels, on the support and understanding of the Centre. Significantly, Mufti also chose to avoid a confrontation with the NDA government on the issue of releasing prisoners by not dwelling on the issue in his address.

The device of setting up a House committee to negotiate with the Centre on addressing the problems of the state, that he mentioned in his speech, is also a wise move and should help expedite communication between the two entities.

Now it is for the Centre to reciprocate and put at rest the persistent speculation that the BJP is only too keen to exploit the Raghunath Temple attack and the issue of the release of prisoners in J038;K to shore up its fortunes in the Gujarat election.

The BJP 8212; or at least its senior leaders 8212; must know that on no account should an issue like terrorism be politicised, because it concerns not one party or state but every Indian and it demands resistance not from one party or state but every Indian. The fact is that after an important election, J038;K has got itself a democratically elected government. It is in everybody8217;s interest to ensure that it is allowed to fulfil its primary purpose 8212; to govern the state. For this it needs, above all, to be trusted.