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'Autonomy is a recipe for disintegration'

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Bharatiya Janata Party politician Chaman Lal Gupta has warned that implementation of the autonomy resolution adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir assembly at a special session earlier this week will lead to the state's break-up.

"What autonomy is [J&K chief minister] Farooq Abdullah asking for? The residents of Jammu and Ladakh are the people who really need autonomy. They are the ones who have suffered for the past 50 years at the hands of the people in the Valley," he said.

Speaking to rediff.com, Gupta, who hails from Jammu, said a large majority of people in the state are opposed to the autonomy plan.

"The people of Jammu and Ladakh are opposed to it, the Shia Muslims are opposed it, the Gujjars and Bakriwal Muslim tribes are opposed to it. So who is supporting the move for autonomy, but a small section of people based in the Valley? How can the Jammu and Kashmir assembly adopt a resolution that only a minority wants," he asked.

Pointing to the narrow support base enjoyed by the National Conference, he said that in the last parliamentary election (1999), Abdullah's son Omar got only nine per cent of the votes.

"If Abdullah presses for autonomy, Jammu and Ladakh will have no alternative but to seek separation. And in such a situation, Abdullah will be blamed for having presided over the disintegration of Jammu and Kashmir."

He said the people of Jammu and Ladakh have been denied their fundamental rights. "In the 1999 elections, the number of voters in Jammu stood at 2,463,000, while only 2,410,000 voters exercised their franchise in the valley. Yet, the valley accounts for three seats and Jammu for only two. Similarly, in the J&K assembly, Jammu has 37 representatives, while the Valley has 46. If this is not discrimination, what is?" the minister said.

Gupta lambasted Abdullah for ignoring history. "Farooq's father Sheikh Abdullah was extremely satisfied with his 1975 accord with Indira Gandhi. Sheikh Abdullah returned to Kashmir politics as a chief minister. Why is Farooq not happy with this arrangement," he asked.

He warned that any move to grant autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir would encourage similar demands from other states. "We have already heard from Punjab. Where will it all end?"

Gupta lamented that instead of working to reconstruct the state, caught in a violent separatist movement, Abdullah was more concerned about his political career.

The minister said an autonomous Jammu and Kashmir is not a viable proposition. "This small state's revenues are currently pegged at Rs 1,200 crore [12 billion], while its wage bill alone is Rs 3,200 crore per year. It is the Centre that pays the difference," he said.

Gupta defended Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani's assertion that the BJP stood for devolution of powers to the states. "The BJP clearly feels that there must be greater financial devolution for better governance. But devolution does not amount to autonomy, which is what Abdullah is asking for," he said.

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J&K assembly adopts autonomy report
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