Mehbooba's message clear

R C Ganjoo

Haseeb Drabu Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state Mehbooba Mufti's action of dumping Haseeb Drabu, finance minister, on March 12 last , has been a calculated move on her political chessboard. Her action has given a clear political message that she should not be taken for granted by her colleagues or ally partner BJP.
Drabu, in a meeting organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi on March 9 last, said "Kashmir was not a political problem and a conflict state but a social problem".
Unfortunately, Drabu was not even given a chance to explain his position before he was sacked. In a letter circulated to the media, he said "The decision to drop me did come as a surprise but what was shocking was the manner and method of communicating it. I was not accorded the opportunity to explain the context and the content of my speech."
The reason for his removal is attributed to his proximity with Ram Madhav, the powerful BJP leader in-charge of Kashmir affairs. Moreover, he had become too big for his boots in the party His arrogance even with his own party workers was not being appreciated. Also, what he spoke was believed to be actually the line of the BJP.

Mehbooba Mufti His removal has put a question mark on the BJP- PDP partnership ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and State Assembly election in 2020. A BJP leader in Delhi, told POWER POLITICS "Mufti's decision to sack Drabu is a "setback" to the alliance as it could widen the gap between the two parties".
The BJP is in catch 22 situation . It wants to keep alliance intact in all possibilities and probabilities. The BJP is losing its credibility in Jammu and Kashmir. In Jammu province, from Lakhanpur to Nowshera and Jammu city, there are anti-BJP demonstrations because the BJP has not come up to the expectations of people. There are several issues which have made people angry with the BJP. They include the pro-Kashmir job and admission policy, denial of citizenship rights to the refugees from West Pakistan, failure of the BJP to tackle the issue of internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus, settlement of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants in Jammu .
All is not well in PDP as well. PDP leaders have started raising voice against the coalition as it has not worked the way they expected. According to sources in the PDP, "corruption is on the rise and agenda of alliance is not working well. BJP commanding and controlling the government at the centre is neither paying any heed to the demands of dialogue with Pakistan and the separatist leaders nor considers the state government's proposals on developmental issues".
Political scientists say Mehbooba Mufti's action against Haseeb Drabu is to restore the ground the PDP has lost over the period on account of its alliance with the BJP.



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