Published: Sunday, Sep 26, 2010, 2:24 IST
By Harish Gupta | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_ire-at-omar-abdullah-s-style-of-functioning_1443383
Union home minister P Chidambaram is understood to have apprised the party high command that a majority of the leaders who visited Jammu and Kashmir recently blamed chief minister Omar Abdullah’s style of functioning for the recent troubles in the state.
Articulating the views of the all-party delegation at a meeting of the Congress Core Committee, presided over by Sonia Gandhi, on Saturday, Chidambaram said some senior leaders were aghast that Abdullah hardly interacted with the delegates. The Congress Core Committee meeting had discussed the situation in J&K, and cleared the J&K package.
Abdullah was with the all-party delegation throughout the visit. But he hardly interacted with them on a one-to-one basis or even as a group. Instead, whenever he had an opportunity to talk to senior leaders, he was found hearing his i-Pod. This happened while travelling with the home minister, leaders of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley respectively, and CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury.
Chidambaram has informed the high command that if Abdullah is to be retained, he will have to change his style of functioning and devote time to interacting with the people.
The all-party delegation had categorically told Chidambaram that one reason for the anger against Abdullah was that he was never available and had converted every street into an army cantonment by digging bunkers. He was not to be found in Srinagar after Wednesday, returning on Monday morning or Sunday night. There is noelse to hear the people’s grievances.
It was at Chidambaram’s bidding that the plan to appoint interlocutors was announced, thus sending a signal to Abdullah that this is his last chance to take advantage of the Centre’s package for Kashmir, or to pack up.
