A consensus appears to be slowly building up against the continuance in office of Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah a day before a crucial all-party meeting is held here on Wednesday on how to tackle the situation in the state.

The BJP and the Left parties have been openly attacking the Omar government for days over his failure to handle the growing crisis in the state, but now the Congress (whose ministers are part of the coalition government in Kashmir) is also beginning to distance itself from the embattled chief minister.
A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security is expected to be held shortly after the all-party meeting, which is likely to discuss what confidence-building measures the government could adopt in Kashmir. Sources said the CCS might also consider dilution of certain provisions of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), with the government reportedly not averse to the idea.
The AFSPA has turned into a political hot potato, with the Omar government and some other parties demanding at least its partial withdrawal in Kashmir in order to defuse the situation. But such a step by the Centre is extremely unlikely at this juncture, with the armed forces vehemently opposing any such move and the principal Opposition, the BJP, also against it.
While defence minister A.K. Antony has said “important decisions are taken after assessing all aspects”, the armed forces once again reiterated their opposition to such a move on Tuesday with the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, who is also chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, saying: “The AFSPA gives legal protection. Legal protection should be there, and the soldier deserves all protection. Whatever decision the government takes on AFSPA, I am sure it will be the right one.” Sources added that Mr Antony had said at Monday’s CCS meeting that withdrawal of the AFSPA could be “demoralising” for the armed forces. Mr Antony said on Tuesday that the situation in Kashmir was “very serious” and needed to be “handled carefully”.
“Before taking a final decision, we thought we should take into confidence all political parties,” said Mr Antony. “Don’t worry, we will take a decision. We will not delay.”
The sources said intelligence reports from the Kashmir Valley indicated that “no amount of confidence-building measures will work under the existing administration”. But a section of the government also feels that removing Omar Abdullah might “embolden the separatist elements” in the Valley.
The situation in Srinagar and the rest of Jammu and Kashmir continued to remain tense — with curfew extended to all major towns in the Valley. The death toll in Monday’s violence rose to 18 on Tuesday.
Differences have, meanwhile, surfaced within the state’s ruling National Conference over Mr Omar Abdullah’s continuation as chief minister. Some of the “old guard” in the NC feel this is an opportune moment for the young chief minister to resign in protest over the Centre’s delay in announcing a political package for the state, in the hope this would held in a “resurgence” of the party. But the CM’s close associates, on the other hand, want him to play the martyr, and feel he would benefit politically if his government were to be dismissed by the Centre.
Mr Omar Abdullah on Tuesday dismissed reports in a section of the media that he had already resigned, and a core group of NC leaders was meeting in the Valley on Tuesday evening, attended by Union minister Farooq Abdullah, who is the CM’s father.
Sources here said the Congress had realised that continuing political support to the Omar administration was becoming “more and more embarrassing for the party”. On the AFSPA issue, meanwhile, BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain made it clear that his party would under no circumstances agree to the Act’s withdrawal. “This is a battle of nerves between the separatists and the government,” he said. Mr Hussain added that the BJP was of the view that “Omar has lost the moral right to continue as chief minister.”
Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani said Tuesday the situation in the state was “alarming” and the state administration had “completely collapsed”. The UPA government, he alleged, was about to “capitulate” before Pakistan-backed secessionists.