Kartarpur, Norwegian ‘mediation’, J&K Assembly move part of BJP plan?

Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : The Narendra Modi government reciprocated Pakistan’s efforts on the Kartarpur corridor, making way for a virtual bridge between the two countries.
There was a “mediation” meeting between former Norwegian PM Kjell Magne Bondevik and separatist leaders in Kashmir, which Norway said was in his “personal capacity”. India’s official stance is that there can be no third-party mediation in Kashmir. However, such a meeting could not have been possible without the back-channel concurrence of the Centre.
Governor Satyapal Malik dissolved the J&K Assembly, suggesting that it was an independent decision irrespective of what the Centre wanted and then voicing ‘threat of transfer’. After the initial criticism, he seems to have earned goodwill for taking a strong stance.
Are the above three diverse incidents in quick succession part of a bigger plan of the BJP—already under attack for not doing enough to ease the situation in Kashmir for the past four and a half years—for the 2019 general election?
Whether a change of tack or otherwise, usually matters related to Pakistan are employed to whip up anti-Muslim sentiment in the Hindu heartland. But with less than six months to go before the general election, the sudden thaw between Pakistan and India has generated a whole lot of possibilities for the BJP looking for a second consecutive term.
Bondevik’s trip to the troubled region came a day after the launch of the much-publicised Kartarpur corridor on the day Mumbai was attacked 10 years ago. Ordinarily, the BJP would have shied away from holding a big political show on the day.
Also, the Centre’s “sudden” decision on the corridor came after BJP and Akali leaders’ relentless attack against Congress’s Navjot Singh Sidhu for publicising Pakistan’s decision to allow Sikh pilgrims a direct access to the Kartarpur gurdwara.
Soon after the move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared the Kartarpur corridor to the Berlin Wall while Jammu and Kashmir leaders, including former CM Mehbooba Mufti, saw it as a “new beginning” of reconciliation between India and Pakistan.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah also urged India and Pakistan to “imitate the spirit of the Kartarpur corridor” in the troubled state by opening all routes across the 749-km-long Line of Control and 198-km-long International Border.