Picking Your Battles

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is under fire from his colleagues in the INDIA bloc for the warm welcome he gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter's trip to the Valley recently.

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The PM was there to inaugurate the 6.5 km Z-Morh tunnel in Central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, making the Sonamarg accessible year-round for tourists. As the CM said, this will improve the road connectivity in the Valley so that those living in the upper regions would no longer have to travel to the plains as they will now benefit from year-round road connectivity.

Given that the purpose of the visit was development-oriented and not a political event, it shows a certain maturity on the Chief Minister's part by not indulging in partisan politics.

The former state of J&K requires special handling, but that apart, any state (or union territory) will benefit from a good equation with the Centre. The BJP has gone hoarse talking about a 'double-engine sarkar', but the principles of federalism are based on the foundations of a viable working relationship between the centre and the state.

The Chief Minister is a pragmatic politician. Plus, he has seen what the path of confrontation has achieved. It was post the very acrimonious PDP-BJP alliance break-up that the Modi Government revoked Article 370 and took away statehood from the Valley.