The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on April 5, described the references made to the 2002 PDP-Congress government formation in Jammu and Kashmir by ex-Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in his latest book, as “blatant lies” and “cock and bull story”.
“It was Ms. (Sonia) Gandhi who sent Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2002 to Kashmir to negotiate the alliance’s agenda. It took two months to finalise the document. Unlike Azad, Ms. Gandhi was aware of the fact that people in J&K had voted for a change. If Azad had numbers, as he claims in the book, why didn’t he stake the claim to form the government,“ Naeem Akhtar, senior PDP leader and Mehbooba Mufti’s close aide, told The Hindu.
Reading the book excerpts produced in the newspapers, Mr. Akhtar said that Mr. Azad’s book looked like “to appease Mr. Modi and distort the facts about Kashmir”.
Mr. Akhtar’s sharp reaction came to Mr. Azad’s disclosure in his book ‘Azaad’, where he described an episode according to which, Mr. Sayeed was in Delhi for talks with Ms. Gandhi, to form the government.
“ ’I thought that I (Sayeed) had been invited to be the Chief Minister!’ Sonia ji and I (Azad) were aghast and said that no such indication or assurance had been given… It was clear that he (Sayeed) wanted to hijack the government,” the book mentions.
Mr. Azad claimed that the Congress had won 20 seats and secured the support of independents and smaller parties to take the numbers to 42. “Mufti, whose party came third in the elections with just 16 MLAs, became the CM, while I, despite having the support of 42 MLAs, had to return to national politics.”
Mr. Akhtar, who served as the Principal Secretary to Mr. Sayeed and also a Cabinet Minister during Ms. Mufti’s rule, said Mr. Azad had the right to state his version, but it needed to stand the test of truth.
“Mr. Azad is dishing out an outright lie. The PDP’s coalition with the Congress came in the backdrop where there was an attempt to achieve a resolution for the Kashmir issue. Both India and Pakistan were on the verge of a war after the Parliament attack. Troops were mobilised by them. It was Mr. Sayeed who pitched for Kashmir to become a bridge between the two countries; a bridge of understanding and friendship,” said Mr. Akhtar.
“Mr. Azad is performing duty in J&K, perhaps to retain his bungalow in Delhi and secure a Rajya Sabha seat”
Naeem Akhtar
Senior PDP leader
“Mr. Sayeed insisted on talking to Pakistan, and asked both the countries to cool down. Perhaps, it did resonate with Ms. Gandhi and the party high command in Delhi then. Ms. Gandhi wanted to give it a try,” he added.
Engineering defection
Mr. Akhtar accused Mr. Azad of “trying to engineer defection within the PDP” and opposing the Congress high command’s likely move to allow Mr. Sayeed to continue as the J&K Chief Minister for the full term, and not on a rotational basis.
“Ms. Gandhi was happy with the performance of Mr. Sayeed; though he was ready to put in his papers. However, Mr. Azad revolted, blackmailed and threatened to leave the party along with other party MLAs, if he was not made Chief Minister,” Mr. Akhtar said.
He said Mr. Azad’s legacy in J&K will be remembered for setting a stage for rightwing parties to expand.
“Mr. Azad left J&K on fire in 2008. The wedge between Jammu and Kashmir regions became permanent and unbridgeable. In the process of consolidating Jammu’s Hindu vote bank to set a stage for himself, it became a platform for the right wing. Mr. Azad conspired with then J&K Governor Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha,” Mr. Akhtar said.
Mr. Azad has termed Mr. Sayeed “devious” in the book. “It speaks of his own character. A person owes everything to a family and the book appears against that family. Mr. Azad was given so much power and centrality for 50 years. He was appointed as J&K Chief Minister before he could win elections there. The Congress gave him a Lok Sabha seat. Now, he takes dictation from somewhere else. The status of G23 after Azad’s exit from the Congress is an indicator of that,” he added.
He accused Mr. Azad of entering into J&K politics with the aim to split Muslim votes. “Mr. Azad is performing duty in J&K, perhaps to retain his bungalow in Delhi and secure a Rajya Sabha seat. He is not even popular in the Chenab Valley, his hometown,” he stated.
( PEERZADA ASHIQ)
