Centre mounts pressure on Farooq not to quit NDA

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR, JULY 9. Alarmed over the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah's stance ever since the Union Cabinet rejected the autonomy resolution passed by the J&K Assembly, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is trying hard to persuade him not to take a decision against his party's continuance in the alliance. But so far, the Chief Minister has not responded positively.

Though Dr. Abdullah made a mild speech while inaugurating a two- day conference on autonomy organised by regional autonomy implementation committee (RAIC) here on Saturday, his winding up remarks at the end of the day had a strident tone.

``Let them put me in jail for 30 years I am not afraid as my father the late Sheikh Abdullah also was in jail for 22 years''. He also cautioned that in case in Sri Lanka a separate Eelam came into existence, Tamil Nadu would go out of hands.

He was apparently enraged over the demand for his dismissal and arrest made by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Shiv Sena. Dr. Abdullah did not attend the Chief Ministers' conference on water resources in Delhi on Friday and sent his PWD Minister, Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar, to represent him.

The NDA Government, headed by Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, does not want to send wrong signals vis-a-vis the federal concept of Government as also its handling of Kashmir even though it is not unduly worried over the support of the four NC MPs in the Lok Sabha. Hence, the MDMK leader, Mr. Vaiko, whose party is an NDA constituent was here to attend the autonomy conference. Though Mr. Vaiko made it clear that he was against the restoring the pre-1953 position to Kashmir, he tried to drive home the point that the ``BJP alone was not the NDA''. He also tried to impress upon Dr. Abdullah in private that any pullout would in no case be in the interest of the alliance and Dr. Abdullah himself.

Informed sources told The Hindu that at least two emissaries from New Delhi were camping in Srinagar to monitor the developments. They are in constant touch with their conduits here who are in a position to influence Dr. Abdullah against taking a decision to withdraw his son Mr. Omar Abdullah from the Union Government. Mr. Omar, who reached here on Saturday, when contacted said, ``I have nothing to say. I will go by party decision whatever it is''.

All eyes are set on the NC's working committee meeting tomorrow. Though Dr. Abdullah holds the key to any decision, he is not in a position to ignore his party sentiments which are in favour of snapping the ties with the NDA to save ``the political base in Kashmir''.

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