OMAR RAISES THE PITCH ON STATEHOOD

CM Omar Abdullah is forced into hyperactive mode on statehood demand by a spurt of Congress protests

- Kaleem Geelani

NO OTHER STATE OR Union territory would wait so desperately for a Parliament session. But then, no parallel exists for Jammu and Kashmir's misfortune: of being demoted from state to UT, and having to solicit New Delhi's benevolence to have its full statehood being restored.

Nearly ten months into its ascension to 'moth-eaten' power, the Omar Abdullah government seems to have hit the threshold of waiting. A striking image became emblematic of this: the 55-year-old CM scaling the wall of the Martyrs' Graveyard like a young parkour freak, after defying house detention and dodging barriers in Srinagar's downtown on foot to reach the site.

It was the eve of the monsoon session in New Delhi, and he had to act. Pressure had been building on Omar for having failed to prevent a coup from above: a capture of powers in general administration and other departments by Raj Bhawan. Looming large was the risk of losing relevance as a ruling party and among his flock, turning into a de facto lame-duck government, stuck in a statutory limbo that reduced Delhi to a quasi-state.

THE SOFT PATH