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Business Standard
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
July 14 incident a blow to democratic institutions, says Omar Abdullah
Abdullah also spoke about his long-held view that the current dual model of governance in Jammu and Kashmir is 'not an ideal form of government' Press Trust of India Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah termed the manhandling incident on July 14 as "shameful", saying people behind this have done "democracy no favours" as such episodes deeply erode public faith in the electoral process. Abdullah also spoke about his long-held view that the current dual model of governance in Jammu and Kashmir is "not an ideal form of government". "What happened on July 14 was shameful. It should never have happened," Abdullah told PTI while referring to an incident at the Martyrs' Graveyard where he and his party colleagues were allegedly manhandled by police. Abdullah cautioned that the "implications and its ramifications will be felt long after" and said if "an elected head of government is being treated that way, imagine what that means for the regular citizens". He voiced deep concern that the incident could lead to widespread disillusionment among voters. "Already I know for a fact that there are people who voted in the last two elections who are today asking themselves whether it was worth voting at all," he said. "It's not about me, it's not about the individual. It's about the office, it's about the institution, it's about the implications. And none of this bodes well for Jammu and Kashmir," Abdullah said He also took a dig at the BJP, highlighting what he perceived as hypocrisy. He said that the BJP itself was part of a government that commemorated similar events between 2015 and 2018. "At that time, why did they not say all this? Because they wanted the fruits of power. So what does that tell you about their commitment and their ideology?" he asked. Responding to criticism from the BJP on the comparison of 1931 martyrs with those killed by Britishers at Jallianwala Bagh, Abdullah said, "I don't agree with anything the BJP says or does. And they don't agree with what I do. Which is fine. That's the difference in our politics." Abdullah also spoke about the ongoing discussions between his government and the Lt Governor's administration aimed at resolving operational differences, particularly concerning the long-awaited "business rules" that would clearly delineate powers and responsibilities within the Union territory's governance structure. He said that his government has not overstepped its boundaries under the J&K Reorganisation Act and has not sought to intrude into the LG's expressly defined domains. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian Express
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Why J&K Deputy CM is turning up heat on L-G Sinha over ‘dual power centres'
Barely a few weeks after Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha claimed his limited administrative authority, J&K Deputy Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) leader Surinder Choudhary on Sunday raked up the issue of dual power centres in the Union Territory (UT), saying the elected government was 'not able to do enough for the people'. Asking Sinha why he was not returning the file relating to the Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) that would define the respective powers of the L-G and the elected government, Choudhary said, 'We are pained that we are not able to provide jobs to our youth even eight months after assuming power.' Choudhary was flagging off a bus from Jammu to the remote Daddal Kalasara village via Sunderbani in the border Rajouri district. He said the Omar Abdullah-led J&K government, like other elected governments of the country, wanted to take 'big decisions' for the welfare of the youth and the elderly but was unable to do it due to 'dual power centres'. The Deputy CM's bid to reiterate such remarks assumes political significance as he has been seen taking a more vocal stand on the issue as compared to Abdullah, who has been emphasising on 'cooperating' with the L-G for people's welfare since taking charge last October. After having emerged as a giant killer in the 2024 J&K Assembly polls, when he defeated then state BJP chief Ravinder Rana, Choudhary's vociferous stance on issues like statehood, power distribution, and restoration of special status are aimed to claim that the people of Jammu, like their Kashmiri counterparts, are not happy with the Centre's move on August 5, 2019, when it abrogated Article 370 and downgraded J&K state to a UT. Sources said Choudhary's position is meant to help the NC keep its vote base intact in Kashmir as well parts of Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley in Jammu while steering the party to take on the BJP in the latter's bastions of Jammu, Samba and Kathua. The Deputy CM has raised these issues in the Assembly too. Amid protests by the BJP MLAs, it was Choudhary who moved a resolution in the House urging the Centre to hold dialogues with the elected representatives of J&K over restoration of Article 370. After the NC-led government recently alleged that the L-G's move to transfer 48 officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) violated the provisions of the J&K Reorganisation Act, it was from Choudhary's home in April that the ruling MLAs 'warned Delhi for the last time' against interference. On Sunday, reminding Sinha of his recent statement that only 'the police came under him', Choudhary also urged the J&K BJP leaders to take up the issue with the L-G. However, the BJP claimed that the powers of the L-G as well as the elected government were 'clearly defined' in the J&K Reorganisation Act. 'The issue concerns the L-G and the government. Both should take care of their respective domains and sort out any confusion instead of making the people suffer,' BJP vice-president and Jammu North MLA Sham Lal Sharma said. On June 14, in an apparent bid to put the controversy over the existence of 'two power centres in the UT' to rest, Sinha had said that only the police came under him while the rest of the administrative departments fell under the purview of the elected government. He subsequently echoed this while responding to state Education and Health Minister Sakina Itoo's criticism.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Everything comes with expiry date: CM Omar Abdullah on statehood for J&K
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said that everything comes with an expiry date and so does his patience with the current form of dual power control in the Union Territory. During an interaction at ET Roundtable in New Delhi, Abdullah said it took him sometime to figure out how things work as he couldn't have started on an aggressive mode right from the beginning."Fact is, today there are two governments in J&K, which shouldn't be the case... It is the worst form of governance... You don't come in and straight away start firing, it takes time to figure out how things work," said Abdullah, adding, "I am not given to threats as that is not in my nature. But let me tell you that everything comes with an expiry date. If I was to give you a date here (about the expiry of the patience of his government) it would sound like a threat." He said that for now, he is not on the firing mode, but will call a spade a spade."The lieutenant governor has recently claimed that he doesn't dabble in anything but law and order and security. The fact is, he does dabble in governance-related matters. He lays foundations of factories in industrial estates managed by the elected government. He distributes job orders prepared by departments managed by the elected government. There are areas where the boundaries are blurred," said the LG is serious about his statements that his role is limited to law and order and security and nothing else, then he should endorse and approve the business rules prepared by the Cabinet of the elected government. "Business rules that we have framed are entirely within the domain of the J&K Reorganisation Act. They don't step beyond its boundary even though we don't agree with the Act. We have not sought to infringe upon the LG's powers on law and order, security and transfer of IAS and IPS officers," said Abdullah adding, "We just want to ensure that distribution of responsibilities is clear cut and there is no confusion."Abdullah said the LG's assertion that only security and law and order is his responsibility is a way of tacitly admitting that Pahalgam perhaps was a failure on his part. "Pahalgam happened under his watch and it seems that is his way of putting his hand down," said CM said he himself was certainly not responsible for the Pahalgam attack in any way, but hinted that the reaction would have been different if he was incharge."I am not sure the reaction would have been as muted if I had been responsible for security and law and order, but that's where politics comes into play," said Abdullah. He said Pahalgam gave a rude awakening that such attacks were not just part of the dark past of J&K, but part of our current reality as well."People were shocked, angered and disappointed because of the Pahalgam attack but don't mistake people's anger against Pahalgam as an endorsement to what happened on August 5, 2019," said the Opposition Congress expressing reservations on the transparency of elections and electronic voting machines , Abdullah said, "It is not something the INDIA bloc has discussed or debated. This is a discussion Congress is having internally. Unfortunately, since the conclusion of the parliamentary elections last year INDIA bloc has not met. We last met at Kharge sahib's house immediately after the parliamentary elections results. We haven't had any conversations after that." He said he doesn't share or endorse Congress' point of view on election results "simply because I am not given to making excuses for things that I don't succeed at. If I have a problem with the election results, then I need to have it when I win as well. My party did better than we expected in the last assembly elections in October," said Abdullah, adding, "Now, if the government wanted to fiddle with these elections and take away a handful of seats from me and may have given it to Altaf Bukhari or somebody like him, would you have really thought of it as daylight robbery? You guys would have thought of it as division of votes.""INDIA bloc performs a very important role, but we are not sure whether that role is limited to fighting general elections or for some amount of coordination in Parliament or is it supposed to guide us through the five years between the two parliament elections?" said Abdullah. He said the NDA seems to have more meetings than the INDIA bloc. "Just surprising, as NDA otherwise never had meetings in the past."
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
J&K LG finds business rules 'contrary to Jammu and Kashmir Act', sends file back to CM Omar Abdullah
NEW DELHI: J&K LG Manoj Sinha has returned the file relating to the proposed J&K transaction of business rules (TBR), sent by the Omar Abdullah govt in early March for his approval, asking the latter to clarify if the necessary procedures were followed while framing the rules. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sources in the elected J&K govt told TOI that the file was sent back a couple of days ago, almost two months after it was first submitted for LG's approval after being cleared by the J&K cabinet. The TBR, which seek to offer clarity on how the secretariat and other govt offices in J&K shall function, were drafted by a high-level committee comprising senior lawyer Rohinton Nariman. A senior functionary told TOI that the file was returned as TBR were found by the LG's office to be contrary to provisions of the J&K Reorganisation Act. The TBR propose that all postings and transfers, including of IAS officers, must be approved by the J&K Cabinet. However, Section 53 of the J&K Reorganisation Act clearly states that LG shall, in exercise of his functions, act in his discretion in matters related to All India Services and Anti Corruption Bureau, besides matters that fall outside the powers of legislative assembly or relate to exercise of any judicial functions. "The TBR seem to claim powers associated with statehood even without statehood. Provisions of the J&K Reorganisation Act have been misinterpreted.... no rules can go beyond the written word in an act of Parliament," said an officer. The Abdullah govt has been complaining about the posting of IAS officers at the helm of many govt departments in J&K, which earlier were occupied or earmarked for Jammu & Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officers. Only on April 29, the Abdullah govt had issued transfer orders of 96 JKAS officers.
