Journalism of Courage
While Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has blamed militants for killing panchs and sarpanchs in the state,his party colleague and relative Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday alleged that vested interests of hardline separatist leaders,mainstream politicians and security forces were behind the recent trouble.
Addressing the media,Omar said: They (militants) are cowards. If they have courage,let them attack me. They wont. They know they will get a befitting response. Saying that they have no evidence of any political force being responsible for the killings of panchs and sarpanchs,Omar said that militants were behind such acts. He assured that his government would do everything possible for the security of panchs and sarpanchs even if it meant rearranging security deployment. If we cant provide PSOs to every panch and sarpanch,we can secure the area, Omar said.
However,describing the killings of panchs and sarpanchs as targeted and planned,NC additional general secretary Mustafa Kamal alleged that panchs and sarpanchs were resigning to protect themselves against targeted killings and not because of militancy. The hawks sitting in Delhi,Defence Ministry and in the armed forces are looking for excuses to continue the Armed Forces Special Powers Act…, Kamal said.
At a time when a delegation of sarpanchs and panchs has gone to Delhi on an invitation from AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi,Kamals statement assumes significance as he is not only a senior leader of the ruling party but also the younger brother of Union Minister Farooq Abdullah.
Kamal accused hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of being involved in the killings,stating that such incidents have taken place only in the strongholds of Jamaat-i-Islami and areas where theres a large deployment of security forces.
Is it new? he said when asked whether he was indicating that Geelani was involved in the killings. The police have arrested an activist of the Hurriyat Conference,headed by Geelani,for the killing of a 65-year-old man in Pattan,he said.
Kamal said that the PDP patron,too,was very much involved in these targeted killings as most of the seats won by his party during the last Assembly polls fall in areas where Jamaat-i-Islami has a presence.
Kamal said,From the common man to politicians to security forces everybody has vested interest in militancy…The Centre should listen to the CM and reduce the presence of security forces as it is an obstacle in bring back harmony and peace in the state.
Omar,meanwhile,maintained that panchayat polls have nothing to do with the Kashmir issue. He ruled out implementation of the 73rd amendment to empower panchayats,and slammed the Congress for taking the debate over empowerment of panchayats to public. Since panchayat elections,the government has received only 50 resignations and we have not accepted any, he said.
