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Kashmir : PM’s visit postponed due to poll code |
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s first visit to Kashmir which was slated for this week has been postponed. According to media reports, the visit has been called off in view the Model Code of Conduct which has been in force in the state because of by-elections in four constituencies next month.
Although the dates of the visit were not announced, the Prime Minister was to come to Jammu and Kashmir on a two-day visit before heading for the United Nations later this month where he will be meeting Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.
Surprisingly, the poll dates were announced way back on August 24, that’s when the code of conduct came into effect, but Government officials were apparently unaware.
The Jammu and Kashmir government sent a letter to the Election Commission seeking its permission for the Prime Minister’s programme. However, the Commission wrote back that under the model code the PM can make any announcements or meet officials in any part of the state except in Srinagar, Anantnag, Jammu and Kathua.” This ended the trip plan as Singh’s crowded schedule involved these districts.
During his visit to the state, the Prime Minister, among others, was expected to announce an economic package, lay the foundation stone of the South Kashmir campus of the Kashmir University in Anantnag and flag off the first train on the Jammu-Udhampur railway line.
The Election Commission has pointed out that when the PM visits a constituency during the polls, he is treated as a leader of a party and not as the head of the government. Announcements for grants, etc made by him have the potential of influencing the voters in favour of the ruling party. The Model Code did not make allowance for that.
Centre’s recent moves on J&K seem jinxed. There is a virtual stalemate in the dialogue process with the All Party Hurriyat Conference. After talks with the Pakistan Foreign Minister in New Delhi recently, the Hurriyat does not seem keen to come to the negotiating table.
Foreign Minister downplays Hurriyat
Meanwhile, even as the All Parties Hurriyat Conference is sulking over Patil’s statement that talks over Kashmir can only be held within the framework of the Constitution, External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh has told a private television channel that he does not attach much importance to the separatist conglomerate. Nor is he bothered about Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri meeting separatist leaders from Jammu and Kashmir.
“For all I care, it does not make a difference. I do not attach much importance to the Hurriyat leadership. The Pakistanis should realize that we have had elections in Jammu and Kashmir where over 45 per cent of the people voted. There is an elected government in place. They should talk to them as well and not just meet Hurriyat leaders. The Pakistanis would have to think about it,” he explained.
He rejected the idea that a leader of national stature should deal with the Hurriyat leadership as had been done by the previous National Democratic Alliance government. Former deputy prime minister L K Advani was talking to the Hurriyat leadership for the NDA government. “We are open to a dialogue with the Hurriyat. It is for them to decide whether they want to engage in one or not,” he said while making it clear that the present government would not go out of its way to please the Hurriyat leadership.
During his visit to Delhi, Kasuri met Kashmiri separatist leaders Shabir Shah and Yasin Malik, who emphasised that the Indo-Pak talks would be futile till Kashmiris are involved in the process. Shah and Malik, who had separate nearly two-hour long meetings with Kasuri in New Delhi, told reporters that the Kashmir issue was a trilateral matter and Kashmiris being “primary party” had to be involved. Shah, who heads Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, also suggested that the Government form a `Kashmir Committee’ under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayeee to act as a bridge between India and Pakistan.
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