After the abrogation of Article 370, many political parties have come up in Jammu and Kashmir but these formations are selling the “old wine in new bottle.”
In democracy, competition is always welcome. But it doesn’t mean that one forms a party by bringing together the disgruntled elements from other parties together.
The political formations that have emerged on the scene during the past three years have stolen ideas and slogans from other parties and have repackaged them as their own.
These parties neither have a different political ideology nor have they got any innovative ideas through which these formations can claim that they have something new to offer to the people.
There is every possibility about the assembly elections being held in Jammu and Kashmir in the coming months but these parties are beating round the bush and seem to lack agenda.
Till now they have not even mentioned a single word about how they would address the socio-economic needs of the people, how can they improve the governance system and how can they empower youth?
These parties are focusing more on pulling leaders and activists from other parties rather than projecting new and young faces who can bring the much needed change and handle the burning issues.
It’s unfortunate but true that leaders of the new parties haven’t understood the real meaning of democracy. For them the democratic polity is nothing more than theatrics and they believe that they can lure the voters by staging dramas and by projecting themselves as the “war lords.”
Someone needs to tell them that one cannot reach out to the people by roaming in bulletproof land cruisers like Afghanistan leader, Gulbideen Hikmatyaar.
If they really want to reach out to the people then they will have to follow the footsteps of great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, who fought for India’s independence without even wearing a slipper.
The great movements in our country where started by honest and genuine leaders. They brought the required change by living with the people.
History stands witness to the fact that no fancy businessman turned politician in the world has ever succeeded in bringing the much desired change. Only the leaders who emerged from the ground fought the elite and were accepted as leaders.
The so-called leaders who beg for security from the establishment cannot claim to be the ones who can represent the common people. For such leaders armed men accompanying them is nothing more than a status symbol. They use their personal security guards for performing their household chores, which includes even fetching groceries from the provisional stores.
Most of the time these guards are used by the protected leaders to scare a common man and send a message that they are powerful people and no one should mess with them.
The state needs to ponder upon its policy about providing security to such people, who don’t have any locus-standi.
The politics in Jammu and Kashmir has become more about show off rather than representing the real cause of the people.
The protected persons in J&K include bank defaulters, land grabbers and the ones who were involved in Hawala transactions and other wrong doings.
This is unacceptable in “New India” which is being headed by a great leader, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who has sacrificed his personal comforts and interests for the sake of his people.
The world leaders today are fighting issues like corruption, nepotism, red-tapeism, poverty etc. But in J&K the politics revolves around who would get the strength from whom.
Politicians who have built castles by hoodwinking the common people in J&K need to be unveiled. They have one home in J&K and another in a foreign country.
This trend was first introduced by the Congress leaders, who initially sent their children abroad to acquire education and then used other excuses to park the illegal money earned by them in the foreign bank accounts.
Any region from where money is drained out and sent to other countries can never prosper. The government needs to frame a comprehensive policy to deal with the people who in the garb of politics are working for their vested interests.
It’s high time to show the war-lords their right place and send a message to them that “Range-Rover” politics won’t work and only sincere and dedicated leaders, who can work for the welfare of people can fit in the system while the ones who think that politics is also a business will be ejected.
The Writer is a Politician and member of Bhartiya Janta Party Since 24 March 2014
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.