“When I was talking about meeting of North Pole and South Pole…I was right. It is historic. I see it as an opportunity. Had I formed the Government on my own I would not have seen such an opportunity. Modi must have had a bigger picture in mind when he joined hands with PDP. There must be a purpose. He may have seen it on a bigger canvas. I say when you have some vision, when you work on bigger canvas, there is a bigger objective. I feel so. This is itself an indication,” he said.

The assertive Chief Minister didn’t explain what exactly he meant by “opportunity”. Nor did he define what he termed as the Prime Minister’s “bigger objective” and bigger picture”. Besides, he didn’t explain what precisely he wanted to convey by saying “he (Prime Minister) may have seen it on a bigger canvas”. He left things vague and reporters guessing. Similarly, he didn’t explain what he meant by “it is historic”. Shrewd and canny politician that he is, he concealed more than he revealed and did so with a purpose. He only gave some broad hints. Significantly, what the Chief Minister said escaped media attention.     

His statements were alarming, frightening as well as dangerous. What did he mean by the opportunity and historic? Obviously, he didn’t mean his appointment as Chief Minister. He meant something very serious and something absolutely different. He could have formed Government with the support of the National Conference (NC). The defeated Omar Abdullah umpteen times offered Mufti Sayeed “unconditional” support. Alternately, he could have formed a coalition with the Congress. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had floated the idea of “grand Alliance” between the PDP, the Congress, the NC and three other Kashmiri MLAs. Both the NC and the Congress wanted to keep the BJP out of power structure. Mufti Sayeed had not one but two options to form “secular” Government in the State. There was no difficulty. Instead, he chose the BJP for some deeper causes ignoring what he had said about the “nationalist” party during his hectic election campaign in Kashmir.

Mufti and his daughter Mehbooba Mufti had left no stone unturned to paint the BJP black, communal and anti-Kashmir and had repeatedly urged the Kashmiri Muslim electorate to ensure that the BJP failed to win a single seat from the Valley, which actually happened. Their efforts were supplemented by Pakistani agent Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who asked Kashmiris to vote in large numbers to ensure the defeat of the BJP.

If one reads between the lines, one can without difficulty conclude that by opportunity or historic opportunity, Mufti meant full freedom and extraordinary power to implement his self-rule agenda. By opportunity, he meant a conducive atmosphere for the introduction of his concept of democracy that gives an opportunity to Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other Pakistani agents in Kashmir to do what they want and break the 67-year-old status quo in the State. During the last 80 days or so, he used the opportunity to the hilt and the results are before us. The situation in Kashmir has assumed alarming proportions with anti-nationals hoisting Pakistan flags, raising pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans and delivering seditious speeches under the very nose of the law and order authorities.  

New Delhi seemingly intervened a number of times; to no avail. This can be corroborated from Mufti’s own statement on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his “bigger objective” and “bigger picture” statement. By   “bigger objective” and “bigger picture”, Mufti Sayeed meant something very serious - perhaps the rise of a situation in the coming days that could empower Islamabad to exercise co-equal sovereign powers with New Delhi in this part of the State.

Mufti Sayeed had on several occasions stated that Prime Minister Modi is an ardent believer in Vajpayee’s “Kashmiriyat, Jamoohriat and Insaniyat” doctrine, which means recognition of Kashmiri Muslim sub-nationalism, dilution of the Indian stand on Jammu and Kashmir and accommodation of Pakistani geo-political interests in this part of the State. Pakistan not only wants to establish full control over the State waters/Indus waters as its very survival depends on our Indian waters, but also wants to annex the entire State at once, if possible, and in stages, if the situation so warrants. Its immediate interest is to establish its foothold in this part of the State with the help of New Delhi, fully convinced that once it happens, it will not be difficult for it to “finish the unfinished agenda of partition” at no cost.

Indeed, Mufti Sayeed has made big political statements, which cannot be overlooked. For, if he meant what he said, then the very political future of Jammu and Kashmir and the minorities in the State, who constitute almost 40 per cent of the State’s population, is at stake. At the same time, it would be foolish to blame the Chief Minister. He is doing what he is committed to doing. Our real problem is New Delhi. It is hoped that the BJP-led NDA Government would take cognisance of what the Chief Minister said and take steps in the larger national interest.