National Conference patriarch Dr Farooq Abdullah has managed to temporarily douse a serious internal revolt by stepping in and listening to angry legislators, but the rebels have delivered a clear and strong message in last 10 days to the Abdullah family the era of one-way dictation is over. Meet the demands, or the dissenting voices will rise again.
National Conference veteran Dr Farooq Abdullah on Thursday moved quickly to calm a brewing internal revolt, meeting disgruntled legislators and acknowledging their grievances as genuine. The immediate tension has eased, but the rebels have sent an unambiguous signal by protesting and have shown togetherness in the last ten days when they conducted 4 meetings and handed over the demand memorandum to Farooq Abdullah. After the thread bear discussion for 3 hours with angry legislators Farooq along with them came out and spoke to media, Farooq dismissed speculation of a party split but the body language was quiet different especially of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah whom the rebellion made responsible for wrong policies.
Farooq Abdullah said “The baseless rumor that the National Conference has disintegrated is entirely false. The party remains organized. To those who believe they can break this party, let it be known that it has never fractured, nor will it ever do so Insha’Allah. We have engaged in discussions with them; their concerns were legitimate. These matters have been examined in great depth, everyone has been heard, and Insha’Allah, as they have indicated, certain steps will be taken promptly, while others will be implemented gradually. We will strengthen both the party and the government to alleviate the hardships faced by the people. Furthermore, our struggle for the restoration of statehood, as well as our fight regarding Articles 370 and 35A, will continue; and Insha’Allah, we will see these efforts through to their successful conclusion.” he said.
MLA from Bijbehara and part of the rebel group, Dr Bashir Viri, confirmed the meeting was constructive.
Dr Viri said “We have been given a patient hearing by the party president and heard our demands. They have agreed to implement our suggestions as we all want to make the party strong and Farooq Sahib has agreed to that,” he told Zee News.
Yet the legislators made it clear that the next few days will be crucial. They will closely watch how the leadership acts on their demands. Sources close to the group indicated that while Farooq’s intervention has provided temporary breathing space, failure to deliver will see the voices of dissent rise again.
The discontent centers on CMs Advisory to be removed, Seniors must be given good space, Corrupt ministers should go, Election Manifesto must be implemented in letter and spirit.
This is the first massive open internal challenge of this scale in the National Conference since it returned to power and is widely seen as directed at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s leadership style. From Farooq Abdullah’s residence, the message that emerged was two-fold: the party remains united for now, but the era of unilateral decisions is under serious pressure.
