Former Home Minster and Finance Minister and Congress loyalist, Shri Palaniappan Chidambaram (PC) who has for quite some time been in the news for all the wrong reasons (from getting his house raided by the CBI in the INX Media kickbacks matter[1] and other cases invoving his son Karti), recently stroked another controversy when he openly advocated for granting autonomy (azadi) to the state of Jammu & Kashmir on the sole premise that a certain section of separatist faction was rooting for it. Chidambaram’s reasoning for granting the state an autonomy lacked yukti (reasoning and logic) since he seemed to harp on the powers granted to the state of J&K under art. 370, but seemed to ignore the fact that Art. 370 for all its might, is only a temporary provision incorporated initially only to incorporate and integrate the state in the Indian Union seamlessly.
Chidambaram in his bid to show loyalty to the family, timed his rant for azadi, merely a day after the Central government invited all the stakeholders on the table for dialogue, but his statement for autonomy backfired when the Congress distanced itself from his statements, citing it as his personal opinion and that J&K is an integral part of the Indian Union.
This is not the first time that PC has stroked controversy concerning the valley, he had in July, 2016 sought for a grand bargain to be given to Kashmir as promised at the time of accession and if not granted would eventually result in India paying a heavy price for the same. It is shameful that a prominent politician of the yesteryear has to resort to such theatrics to stay relevant in today’s contemporary politics by raising the Kashmir issue to suit their political agendas.
This hardly comes as a surprise considering Chidambaram and the Congress openly supported the JNU brigade of Kanhaiya Kumar and Omar Khaled who screeched and scowled for azadi and in their attempt for “Bharat ke tukde”.
Ironically, this statement from a former Home Minister is in absolute contradiction to the concrete work done by the first Home minister of India (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel) in the integration of Kashmir into the newly formed Indian Union. His statements are blasphemous to the post he served in the previous UPA government.
Although Chidambaram’s statement holds no logic to stand firm against any form of criticism or questioning, such stray comments by a former Home Minister/Finance Minister have the tendency to strike further controversy in an already complicated matter. This serves as a ideal recipe for confusion and chaos, which ultimately helps only the separatist’s and Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir.
For reasons obvious to everyone, if the Kashmir conflict is resolved amicably with all the stakeholders on the table, many politicians and activists would lose their bread and butter, since this is all they thrive on. Creating unrest in the valley serves the selfish purpose of a few traitors who shamelessly sell themselves at the stake of the country’s sovereignty.
PM Modi in his speech in Karnataka, tore into Chidambaram and the Congress by stating that such stray remarks by the politician are an insult to the soldiers guarding the frontiers of our country.
“Why are Congress leaders lending their voice to those who want Azadi in Kashmir? This is an insult to our brave soldiers,” said PM Modi.[2]
While Chidambaram had carefully timed his attack on the present BJP government and PM Modi, the unwarranted insinuation has resulted in him being degraded as an opportunist who considers his party over his country.
For more information on the on the history of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), please refer to our article[3] which aims to provide an overall insight on the issue of J&K. And for Shri. P Chidambaram, Kashmir has been a part of Bharat for thousands of years, it was- it is and it will remain to be a part of India.
References:
[1]https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/cbi-raids-at-congress-leader-p-chidabarams-chennai-home-1693984
[2]http://www.republicworld.com/s/10367/narendra-modi-slams-chidambram-for-his-kasmir-azadi-remark-calls-it-an-insult-to-soldiers