One happy family: Omar, Farooq deny rift rumours

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: Farooq (R) and Omar say they make have differences in thinking but none while working.

        

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A day after National Conference emerged the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, former state chief minister Farooq Abdullah rejected all speculations of a rift within the party and named his son and National Conference President Omar Abdullah the party's chief ministerial candidate.

In this exclusive interview with CNN-IBN's Suhasini Haidar, both Farooq and Omar Abdullah stated emphatically that there was no rift within J-K's first family.

Suhasini Haidar: With the Congress making it clear that it would prefer a coalition with the National Conference - the single largest party in the Jammu and Kashmir elections - it is obvious that one of the leading men of the National Conference is going to chief minister. Omar, who is going to be the next Chief Minister of the state?

Omar Abdullah: Well, to be honest with you, this question would not have arisen if we had received a verdict from the people to form a government of our own. That didn't happen and now clearly we need to sit down and our legislative party needs to discuss the entire aspect of what is happening. We also need to take into account what our possible coalition partners have to say on the matter. As far as I am concerned, Dr Abdullah was the National Conference's chief ministerial candidate and he is still the National Conference's chief ministerial candidate, but obviously that is something that I cannot decide. It's something that our legislative party has to talk about and our coalition partners too.

Suhasini Haidar: But Dr Abdullah you are ready to be chief minister despite the misgivings that you had earlier about heading a coalition rather than your own government.

Farooq Abdullah: No. In the night I had a think about this and I think that the time has come when I will recommend to my own party that we should have a younger man, because the work is hard and there is a lot to be done and I think that it is time that I should really build the party. I feel the party is really important. We have lost ground in some of the areas, some areas were completely wiped out and that shows that the party needs regrouping and needs to be realigned. And that is what I have been thinking that I should really devote my time to party work and that the government work should be handed over to a younger man. I think I will recommend to the party that Omar should be considered for the chief ministerial candidature.

Suhasini Haidar: Well, the fact that the two of you are standing together means that you are really on the same stage as far as the decision goes, but there have been many reports about problems between the father and the son, the first family of Kashmir many say is divided. What do you say to this?

Farooq Abdullah: I think that this is basically created by the media. He is my flesh and blood and I don't think I have any problems. In thinking we might have some differences, but in working we don't have any differences. I have always stood by him and I will continue to stand by him. And I think that he would be the right man, honestly, looking at the situation as it is. We need a younger man to run on these hills and I accept that and I think that I need a wider canvas. I have always felt that I should play more of a role in the national politics than in state politics. I think the time has come when I can do much more on a larger horizon that on just only a state horizon. I spoke to Omar in the morning and I think that he has reluctantly accepted the fact that this is the right decision.

Suhasini Haidar: Many still say that the senior leadership in the National Conference want Dr Abdullah to be chief minister just to keep the party together. There is a fear that the PDP might actually gain if there is you and not Dr Abdullah at the helm of affairs. Are you quite confident that you can keep the party flock - both the seniors and the juniors - together?

Omar Abdullah: Well let me first address the point of differences that you raised. I think that the only way to explain it is that the differences - if there are any - are in style and not in substance. We both want the same things for the state, we both want the same things for the party, we both want the same things for the people and we will both work as allies towards our dreams and aspirations.

As far as the party is concerned, I have run it for more than six years now. We have both withstood tremendous challenges. The fact that we stood Mufti Sayeed's populist agenda government for as long as we did without breaking down, the fact that the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road opened up inspite of Mufti's propaganda campaign on POTA, on the Special Task Force and a whole host of other issues - if the National Conference today is still the single largest party, it is because dad and I have been able to give a sense of security to our workers, it is because we have been able to take the party through these difficult times and I have no doubt that as long as I have dad there with his advice, with his suggestions and his gentle nudging in the right direction, the old guard and the young guard will all work together to realise the mission that we have.

And as far as the broader canvas for dad is concerned, it's not just a national canvas. I mean, he has an international canvas which he has to paint on. Jammu and Kashmir is going through an extremely difficult phase both internally - which the government will hopefully be able to work on - and even internationally. Today, with tensions rising between India and Pakistan, the direct fallout of those tensions are on Jammu and Kashmir. The more tense it is, the worse it is for Jammu and Kashmir. The better it is, things are better here for us. And clearly, I would like to see dad play a role in bridging the differences between India and Pakistan, in bringing about some sort of reconciliation between the two countries so that we can actually put an end to this problem that we call the issue of Kashmir.