Farooq buying peace with Congress
Raids on Maulvi Ansari's premises
From M. L. Kak
Tribune News Service

JAMMU, Oct 27 — Is the National Conference trying to revive its political ties with the Congress? This question has assumed significance following the state government's clearance to the Sales Tax Department to carry out raids on the business premises owned by the Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari.

Soon after the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, left for London to attend the wedding of his daughter, the Sales Tax Department swung into action and raided three business premises of Maulvi Ansari in Srinagar and Jammu on the charge that he had not cleared sales tax arrears of over Rs 1.43 crore. Officials of the Sales Tax Department impounded several new Maruti cars.

Though Ansari Motors has cleared the arrears to avoid the attachment of assets, the incident has confirmed reports regarding differences between the National Conference leadership and Maulvi Ansari, a Congress leader who has been suspended for six years from the Congress for his anti-party activities and for having remained in the Cabinet despite the AICC directive to quit the Council of Ministers.

Several National Conference ministers and legislators were opposed to Maulvi Ansari's induction into the Cabinet. But he had the backing of the Chief Minister. Several National Conference leaders, including the Finance Minister, the Revenue Minister, the Industries Minister and the Animal Husbandry Minister had been seen lobbying for Maulvi's ouster from the Cabinet. The Maulvi preferred to face suspension from the Congress to quitting the Cabinet. This further enraged several National Conference ministers.

Reports said that Dr Abdullah too had started getting uneasy in the company of the Maulvi because as Housing and Urban Development Minister he took certain decisions which went against the interests of National Conference supporters. What has intrigued the minister and his supporters is the way his business premises were raided and orders of the attachment of his property were issued when there were more than 372 sales tax defaulters in the state. Observers are of the opinion that the National Conference leadership wanted to cut to size Maulvi Ansari who was not prepared to play a second fiddle to any other senior minister except the Chief Minister.

A section of senior National Conference leaders is said to have motivated the Chief Minister to approve of the action of the Sales Tax Department against Maulvi Ansari with the hope that as a "maligned" minister he would quit the Cabinet but he has not obliged them so far.

Another cogent reason for the action is that the National Conference leadership wanted to revive its ties with the Congress at the Centre following Dr Abdullah's belief that the BJP led coalition government was not going to complete its term. Since the relations between the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and Dr Farooq Abdullah have remained strained after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Dr Abdullah is said to be trying to get closer to the Congress by making Maulvi Ansari a scapegoat. Though Maulvi Ansari has been in the Cabinet since October 1996, the AICC did not take action against him. It was within three months of her installation as Congress President that Ms Sonia Gandhi suspended the Maulvi Ansari from the primary membership of the party for a period of six years.

Dr Abdullah has been told by critics of Maulvi Ansari that the only way to buy peace with the Congress was to create conditions for the Maulvi to quit the Cabinet. The National Conference leadership is of the view that the regional party should be equidistant from all national-level political organisations. No doubt Dr Abdullah has many friends in the Congress including Mr Sharad Pawar and Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad and would prefer to revive old political ties with Ms Sonia Gandhi.

Action against Ansari Motors is also said to be the part of government strategy to force others to clear the sales tax arrears which are said to have touched Rs 330 crore mark.