Within a day of being sworn in, the Modi government has created its first official controversy. And an entirely avoidable one at that.
Jitendra Singh, a BJP MP from Udhampur and a newly sworn in minister in the Modi ministry, had barely taken charge before he decided to shoot himself in the foot and cause an embarrassment for the government by making a statement that the process to repeal Article 370 has started.
As expected, Omar Abdullah immediately piled onto the guy and started shooting his own mouth off. Fortunately, the reactions by the PDP were a bit more measured and they decided not to try to score brownie points over Omar. And then, the RSS and others also got into the party.
The controversy got further credence as Mr Jitendra Singh is no random minister. He is MoS-PMO and hence can be expected to carry the PM's own views on a particular topic.
No matter what anyone's stance on Art. 370 may be, no one can deny that it is a very sensitive topic. And like all sensitive topics it needs to be handled in a very measured manner. This kind of jostling for attention and public posturing will only defeat the purpose of having a dialogue on Art. 370 as the various stakeholders would have pushed themselves into their respective corners through public statements. Any movement on such issues can only happen through careful and deliberate dialogue (maybe even away from the public eye).
Further, is this the most important issue facing the country that needs a statement within minutes of the minister taking charge? Aren't there much more pressing issues to focus on?
I hope this was just a false start and not a sign of political harakiri by the Modi government. Modi could certainly do well to reign in his minister who may be basking in their new found glory and prevent unnecessary embarrassment to his government and damage to the country.
Jitendra Singh, a BJP MP from Udhampur and a newly sworn in minister in the Modi ministry, had barely taken charge before he decided to shoot himself in the foot and cause an embarrassment for the government by making a statement that the process to repeal Article 370 has started.
As expected, Omar Abdullah immediately piled onto the guy and started shooting his own mouth off. Fortunately, the reactions by the PDP were a bit more measured and they decided not to try to score brownie points over Omar. And then, the RSS and others also got into the party.
The controversy got further credence as Mr Jitendra Singh is no random minister. He is MoS-PMO and hence can be expected to carry the PM's own views on a particular topic.
No matter what anyone's stance on Art. 370 may be, no one can deny that it is a very sensitive topic. And like all sensitive topics it needs to be handled in a very measured manner. This kind of jostling for attention and public posturing will only defeat the purpose of having a dialogue on Art. 370 as the various stakeholders would have pushed themselves into their respective corners through public statements. Any movement on such issues can only happen through careful and deliberate dialogue (maybe even away from the public eye).
Further, is this the most important issue facing the country that needs a statement within minutes of the minister taking charge? Aren't there much more pressing issues to focus on?
I hope this was just a false start and not a sign of political harakiri by the Modi government. Modi could certainly do well to reign in his minister who may be basking in their new found glory and prevent unnecessary embarrassment to his government and damage to the country.
