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NDA now tries to woo National Conference

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

After the snubbing, it is time for wooing with chocolates and roses.

The Vajpayee government is utilising the services of a senior intelligence official to persuade Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah's National Conference to stay with the ruling National Democratic Alliance, according to top government sources.

They told rediff.com that the official "could be Intelligence Bureau chief Shyamal Dutta''.

They also pointed out that the government was utilising the services of MDMK leader Vaiko, who is in Srinagar for a conference on autonomy.

By first rejecting the J&K assembly's resolution on autonomy and now persuading the NC to stay with it, the government's compulsions on keeping the ruling coalition intact have tellingly come to the fore.

Soon after his return from a European tour, Prime Minister A B Vajpayee snubbed Abdullah and his NC, stating that it was up to the latter to stay or leave the ruling coalition at the Centre. The Union Cabinet had earlier rejected the J&K assembly's resolution on autonomy "unanimously", as emphasised by Union Home Minister L K Advani at his press conference subsequently.

The sources pointed out that the intelligence official and Vaiko were in constant contact with "entities" close to Abdullah and other NC leaders to influence them.

"Abdullah and the NC legislators have been told that they should not take any hasty decision about leaving the NDA government, which is working out a very reasonable devolution package for Kashmir," the sources pointed out.

Significantly, the NC's working committee meeting had deferred to today its decision on whether to remain in the NDA government. Farooq Abdullah's mother's death may lead to further postponement of the meeting.

The Vajpayee government's now-offensive, now-defensive stance on the autonomy issue underlines the disquieting tale of relentless pressure being mounted by hawks within the Sangh Parivar including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, to take a tough line against the J&K assembly's autonomy demand.

RSS chief K S Sudarshan recently stressed that the Vajpayee government's compulsions of coalition politics was responsible for the state of affairs. The Sangh Parivar's pressure tactics on the prime minister and the latter's efforts to keep his government together now appears to be a difficult proposition in the light of the recent political developments.

A key NDA constituent, the Samata Party, had demanded in a newsletter from Varanasi that the government take strong action against those attacking Christians and their institutions. Talks between the Sangh Parivar outfits and Christian leaders were also postponed, as more attacks were reported from Karnataka on the minority community.

Union Defence Minister George Fernandes belongs to the Samata Party and is a Christian. However, his stand on the attacks on Christians has been confusing.

On July 9, he described such attacks as the handiwork of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and "external forces". But his party's outburst against constituents of the Sangh Parivar bodes ill for Vajpayee's efforts to hold his government together.

Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani's recent statement that the groundwork is being done for greater autonomy for J&K may have given additional time to the NDA government to decide what is best. Jethmalani indicated that the Union list may witness changes to facilitate greater devolution of powers to J&K. This has given hope to NC leaders, like state Law Minister P L Handoo that J&K may also be empowered to frame certain legislations that his party regard as a giant leap forward.

However, the government is aware that the people of Jammu and Ladakh oppose autonomy for J&K and that any concessions it gives NC supporters have to be matched with similar ones for them. It seems that how far the Vajpayee government is willing to go to give greater devolution of powers to Abdullah and his party colleagues will decide the political course for Kashmiris.

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