Leader with a ‘secular legacy’ now under cloud over clashes

His father,Basher Ahmad Kitchloo,was a close aide of National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah,Omar Abdullah’s grandfather. Basher Kitchloo’s 27-year-long ministerial stint included a phase in the cabinet of Dr Farooq Abdullah,Omar’s father.

“Secularism has been the bedrock of our family’s political ideology,” Kitchloo said as he resigned. “My conscience does not allow me to continue as a minister till the probe ordered by the government gives its findings.”

Those who have questioned his role in the clashes include Naresh Gupta,Congress president for Doda district. He has asked why Kitchloo didn’t intervene effectively,why curfew wasn’t imposed immediately and why the Army was involved late. Former state BJP chief Nirmal Singh has demanded an inquiry into what Kitchloo was doing when the clashes took place. BJP national spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi has described him as “at best a mute spectator and at worst involved in the clashes”. Various other organisations,both political and non-political,were demanding Kitchloo’s dismissal until he resigned.

Kitchloo,for his part,insists his being in Kishtwar actually saved lives. “It could have been a bigger tragedy but things were controlled,” he said. He stressed how he enjoys the support of the two communities that populate Kishtwar equally. “I get votes from both communities because of my secular credentials; I represent both,” he said.

Usually soft-spoken,Kitchloo had showed at least one burst of anger in his brief stint as a minister. He allegedly slapped Riaz Ahmed Choudhary,chief executive officer of Kishtwar Development Authority,who had failed to arrive in time for a meeting Kitchloo was to chair at the Tourist Reception Centre.

Before that,he had weathered his first test as minister after the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in Tihar jail. The government imposed curfew in the state,with Kitchloo defending the decision as a necessary one.

Kitchloo is a mechanical engineer but the family always wanted him in politics,and his father started grooming him from 1996. He became tehsil president of the Youth National Conference,and district president of the NC two years later. He was elected from Kishtwar in 2002 and 2008,before Omar made him a minister this year.

He is close to Omar. Tanvir Sadiq,political secretary to the chief minister,said,“Kitchloo has a good public image. He gets many visitors every day and addresses their grievances.”

In his hometown,there are many who believe he didn’t tackle the riots fast enough. “It was only after the army came that the situation was brought under control,” said Baldeep Jamwal,who works with a vernacular daily.