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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah's offer to resign before the censure motion on Gujarat was put to vote in the Lok Sabha on April 30, may have ruined his father, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah's, chances of becoming the vice-president of India.
Though Abdullah junior maintains that his father is still in the race, his friends in the National Democratic Alliance think otherwise.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has already made it known that his party would oppose Abdullah's bid to take the vice-president's office.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders also believe that it would be difficult to reward Abdullah after the stand his party took on Gujarat in the Lok Sabha.
Talking to rediff.com sometime back, Omar Abdullah had said that his father has been offered vice-presidentship if he supports the government on Gujarat.
Nobody in the BJP is denying that such an offer was made to Dr Abdullah, but they say things have changed after the Gujarat censure motion in the Lok Sabha.
Dr Abdullah's National Conference had abstained from voting on the motion.
"I know that the government was in a mood of give and take. There was talk of adjusting him [Dr Abdullah] somewhere on the national scene once Omar Abdullah went to Jammu and Kashmir. But the Shiv Sena sabotaged his chances by saying that he is not acceptable to them," senior BJP leader J P Mathur told rediff.com on Monday.
Bal Thackeray's main objection is Dr Abdullah's demand for restoration of the pre-1953 status in Jammu and Kashmir. Since the pre-1953 status means an autonomous status for the state, Thackeray believes that a person who has little faith in the Union cannot be entrusted with a constitutional post.
Omar Abdullah, however, has not given up hope. He believes that since the prime minister has rejected his resignation, he may keep the promise made to his father.
ALSO SEE:Lok Sabha rejects censure motion
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