In an interview to talk both about the new Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and his demand for the early grant of statehood as well as the recent spike in terror in the Union territory, former head of R&AW and one of India’s renowned experts on Kashmir, Amarjit Singh Dulat, has said the relationship between the lieutenant governor and chief minister is “not a good relationship”. Dulat has also said that Abdullah’s coming to Delhi within days of taking over was “hasty”, adding that he will “look embarrassed” if Delhi doesn’t restore statehood quickly.
In a 30-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Dulat also said that “terror has never gone away in J&K”. He identified three broad causes for the present prolonged spike in terror. They are, first, a deliberate effort by Pakistan to tell the Kashmiri people that they are with them; second, an attempt by terrorists to disprove the governor’s narrative that everything is normal and; third, the continuing impact of abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 which, Dulat said, “still disturbs Kashmiris … it’s not done and dusted, it’s not out of the minds of Kashmiris.”
Speaking about the relationship between the Abdullah and the governor, Dulat said “a message is being sent by the governor that he is still in control”. Dulat said every time the chief minister calls a meeting of bureaucrats, the governor does the same thing.
Dulat said if Farooq Abdullah had been chief minister, he would not have come to Delhi so quickly after taking over. He said the Kashmiri people are closely watching and scrutinising everything, including the fact Omar gifted expensive shawls to the prime minister, home minister and other top ministers.
