National Conference (NC) leader Nasir Aslam Wani with J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. File.
| Photo Credit: Nissar Ahmad
National Conference (NC) leader Nasir Aslam Wani, who is also Adviser to J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, on Saturday said that his government intends to follow the rules framed under the J&K Reorganisation Act, introduced by the Centre in 2019 after the special status of the region was scrapped.
“The government knows its jurisdiction and we too want that the business rules and limitations as defined under the Reorganisation Act should be followed in letter and spirit,” Mr. Wani said.
Mr. Wani’s statement came a day after J&K Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha defended the transfer of 48 middle-rung officials in J&K, saying he “acted within the domain, as defined by the Act”.
These transfers, however, saw a major face-off between the government and the Raj Bhavan. Legislators of the ruling alliance on Friday met in Srinagar over these transfers and passed a resolution wherein the Centre was urged “to respect people’s mandate and not to undermine it”. NC leader Tanvir Sadiq also warned against pushing the ruling alliance to the wall.
‘Dual governance’
In Jammu, NC leader and former Minister Ajay Kumar Sadhotra described “the ongoing dual governance in sensitive J&K as detrimental to public interest and in blatant disregard for the popular mandate given by the people during the Assembly election”.
“Democracy is fundamentally a system of governance of the people, by the people, and for the people. Any deviation from this principle, especially in a region as politically sensitive and strategically significant as J&K, is bound to create alienation, confusion, and administrative inertia. The will of the people must not be undermined. Governance must reflect the aspirations and sentiments of the people, not override them,” Mr. Sadhotra said.
He alleged that the Business Rules formulated and recommended by a democratically elected government “have been ignored or put on the back burner, while actions that serve bureaucratic or political expediency are being fast tracked regardless of their merit or impact on public welfare”. “This selective governance not only breeds inefficiency and mistrust but also kills the very spirit of democratic accountability,” he said. “In such a scenario, accountability becomes the first casualty, and governance drifts into a directionless, undemocratic exercise,” Mr. Sadhotra added.
Disastrous decisions, says CPI(M)
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) on Saturday said the “unconstitutional and disastrous” decisions of August 5, 2019 – nullifying Articles 370 and 35A – along with a series of arbitrary legislations and humiliating actions, had dismembered and downgraded the historic State of Jammu & Kashmir.
“The snatching away of statehood and bifurcation of the State into two Union Territories has created a deep political void, and intensified the sense of uncertainty and alienation among its people. Civil liberties, human rights, and democratic freedoms continue to be eroded. Arbitrary arrests under draconian laws like the UAPA and the PSA have become a disturbing norm. Hundreds of political activists and journalists remain incarcerated inside and outside Jammu and Kashmir. Youth are being denied job opportunities under the pretext of security verification, while passports are withheld on flimsy grounds,” it said in a statement passed during the 24th Party Congress meeting.
The CPI(M) also demanded “immediate granting of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as a step towards restoration of special status, protection of land and job rights, restoration of democratic, civil, and trade union rights and release of political detenues and journalists, and ensuring freedom of the press”.
Published – April 06, 2025 12:51 am IST
