Lt. Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha defends his move to transfer 48 middle-rung officials and said he acted “entirely within the domain defined by J&K Reorganisation Act”. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Elected legislators of the ruling alliance, including the National Conference (NC) and Congress, on Friday (April 4, 2025) accused J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha of “undermining people’s mandate” by transferring middle-rung officials in the Union Territory (UT), in a first major face-off since an elected government took over after a gap of six years in J&K last year. Meanwhile, Mr. Sinha said all recent transfers of officials were “within his domain”.
“We maintain coordination with the L-G administration and the Government of India (GoI). Our cordial approach should not be construed as weakness. We appeal one last time not to push us to the wall. We also urge the GoI to respect the mandate and will of the people. We will not hesitate to raise our voice against any unjust or unilateral decisions,” ruling NC legislator Tanvir Sadiq said.
Mr. Sadiq’s strongly worded statement came after J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired the meeting of the alliance parties’ legislators, including Independent MLAs, at the residence of Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary in Srinagar. The NC has a support of around 50 MLAs in the 90-member House.
Mr. Sadiq said the legislators passed two key resolutions during the emergency meeting chaired by CM Abdullah. Besides urging the Centre “to respect the mandate of the people”, the legislators also “opposed” and “rejected” the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and termed it as “anti-Muslims”, he said.
“The Bill is discriminatory and not in the interest of the people of J&K,” Mr. Sadiq said.
Congress MLA Nizamuddin Bhat said the meeting discussed the political situation, Constitutional and administrative issues. “The legislature, which has the people’s mandate, remains a strong and credible body in J&K,” Mr. Bhat said.
Defending his move to transfer 48 middle-rung officials, L-G Sinha said he acted “entirely within the domain defined by J&K Reorganisation Act.”
“The Parliament has passed the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. I have never overstepped my Constitutional boundaries. I am fully aware of my jurisdiction and responsibilities. I have never violated them, nor will I ever do so,” Mr. Sinha said.
It was for the first time that L-G Sinha, which has a defined mandate to transfer police officers and Central services officials as per the Act, also transferred officials from J&K Administrative Services (JKAS), including additional deputy commissioners, sub-district magistrates and tehsildars.
Backing the L-G’s move, BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma said all the transfers by the L-G were related to law and order and fall. “NC, for decades, treated J&K as a personal property. That era is over. J&K is now a UT like Puducherry and Delhi. The CM and other Ministers also make transfers within their respective departments, including appointments of principals, lecturers, and other officials,” Mr. Sharma said.
Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti cornered the ruling NC over “failing to address real issues like unemployment, raids, special status and detaining of youths”.
“It’s a joke that the government with a huge people’s mandate discusses who will transfer a patwari. No one wants confrontation with the Centre, but this government surrendered without even trying. Omar Abdullah is silent over the removal of employees from his own department. This government’s priorities are misplaced,” Ms. Mufti said.
PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehmaan Para accused the NC of “shifting goalposts”. “A party that once appointed its own Sadri Reyast and Prime Minister is now fighting over tehsildars’ appointments, not rights. Goalposts aren’t just shifting, they’ve hit rock bottom. Fifty MLAs unite, not for the resisting August 5, but for JKAS transfers. You started by surrendering and normalising August 5, expecting them to facilitate you because you facilitated them,” Mr. Parra said.
Published – April 04, 2025 09:30 pm IST
