Rajnath Singh: Ceasefire In Kashmir Was Not A Mistake

Amidst the swirl of personality-oriented politics in the BJP, Rajnath Singh has been a picture of steadiness and calm, both in the government and in the party. Governor’s rule in Kashmir, however, will be a major challenge for him

- Sachidananda Murthy

For Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the first two weeks of June were a period of calm, but turbulence followed. He was back at the wheel on the Union government’s Kashmir policy after the announcement of the ‘suspension of operations’ in the interior areas of Jammu and Kashmir. He had agreed to demands from chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and leaders of different political parties that the Army and Central paramilitary forces should show restraint. The ceasefire was not extended to the International Border and the Line of Control, to repulse infiltrators and to reply to the artillery barrage by the Pakistan army. After the first few days of the ceasefire, Rajnath was getting increasingly negative reports from the Intelligence Bureau, the Central Reserve Police Force and the governor’s office that the separatist groups were not observing the ceasefire.

While the security signals were disturbing, Rajnath’s political antenna picked up stronger signals of unease from within the BJP. The party had changed all its ministers in the Mehbooba government and had brought in new faces, including a new deputy chief minister.

The new team had no rapport with Mehbooba and other PDP ministers. The finance department handled by the PDP had curtailed the flow of funds to projects proposed by BJP ministers. The RSS, which has a strong presence in Jammu, gave feedback to its chief Mohan Bhagwat that the distrust about the PDP had gone up several notches in the Jammu region. The BJP had swept the region in the 2014 assembly elections. Rajnath had multiple meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on how to cut political losses and take control of the state.