Clearly, one of the top items on the agenda of the second Modi term is Kashmir. A tough home minister like Amit Shah is currently engaged in efforts at setting things right there. The first step forward for the Centre is to extend Central rule there for six more months. This would mean elections to the state assembly can wait even as the Lok Sabha polls were held there successfully. The scenario in Kashmir being what it is, a straight approach is neither likely nor expected from the government. As the situation stand today, Central rule is likely to continue there for longer periods than even the six months for which Parliament’s nod was sought by the home minister on Friday.
The BJP’s alliance with the PDP of Mehbooba Mufti, which saw the woman leader heading a government with the saffron party as her partner for a couple of years, did not yield good results. Keeping the Congress away from power there by itself meant little. That period saw stone-pelting incidents at security forces rising to high levels. At the ground level, the PDP threw its hands up. Cops were handicapped by the “soft” attitude displayed by the Mehbooba dispensation and the scenario was brought under control only after the military took up the challenge. The killing of young Burhan Wani, commander of a militant outfit that drew inspiration from Pakistan, by security forces in July 2016 helped change the scenario for the better, but only to an extent. It sent out a strong warning to the militants. The Mehbooba government’s decision to set free the large number of youths arrested for stone-pelting incidents was one among the many wrong steps taken by the PDP-BJP government there. Those attacking the security forces required to be dealt with a strong hand.
The Lok Sabha polls for the six seats in the state showed that three seats each went to the BJP and the National Conference. It was a washout for the PDP which had held three seats in the last Lok Sabha, as also to the Congress. Amit Shah’s two-day visit to the state this week preceded his Bill to extend central rule. Kashmir requires time to heal. The Centre now plans long-term steps. PM Modi who has won a huge mandate to rule the nation must act decisively to restore normalcy in J &K. He has the nation’s backing. Given the complexities involved in the state’s governance, an extension of Central rule for now is inevitable.