Our govt. intends to follow J&K Reorganisation Act, says Omar Abdullah’s adviser

NC leader Nasir Aslam Wani supports following J&K Reorganisation Act rules, amid tensions over governance and political rights.

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. 

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.