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JAMMU: Advocate Rattan Lal Gupta, Provincial President of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), has raised serious concern over the continued interference by the office of Lt Governor in the functioning of the democratically elected government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Jammu and Kashmir. He termed the situation as “undemocratic, unconstitutional, and deeply troubling” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
While interacting with senior functionaries of Party at Sher- e- Kashmir Bhawan here today, the senior NC leader said “India is a democratic country where governments are elected by the people, and their mandate must be respected. The people of J&K have chosen their representatives with the hope that, as assured by the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Home Minister, full statehood would be restored and the democratic machinery would function smoothly. But unfortunately eight months have passed, and the Centre has miserably failed to restore the statehood to J&K and the LG Office has still not send back the Business Rules to the elected government.”
Rattan Lal Gupta said that although the Home Department including Law and Order remains under the exclusive control of the Lieutenant Governor as stated by himself while the rest of the departments are under the control of the elected government. Yet, the LG Office continues to meddle in day-to-day governance, creating a dual power structure that is causing institutional confusion and administrative chaos.
He said, “If the Chief Minister-led government do something in the larger public interest, the LG’s office must appreciate the working of the popular government but the LG Office thinks otherwise. Such actions are sending a wrong message that the mandate of the people is being undermined and disrespected.”
The Provincial President said that such overreach is further alienating the public, especially in a region already grappling with administrative chaos. “J&K is a border state. Instead of enabling the elected government to function freely and deliver governance, the LG-led office is acting otherwise, he added.
Rattan Lal Gupta urged the Union Government to immediately intervene and ensure that the constitutional norms are upheld in letter and spirit. “The Business Rules must be sent back to the elected Govt without any further delay, and the LG’s office should step back from managing the departments falling under the domain of the elected government. The will of the people cannot be held hostage to bureaucratic overreach,” he said.
The Provincial President has also welcomed the recent statement of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah regarding the utilization of Chenab water to meet the needs of the water-deficient in Jammu city and Kandi belts of Samba and Kathua districts. He said this vision was originally laid down by Dr. Farooq Abdullah during his tenure, who had proposed lifting Chenab water to address water scarcity in Jammu city, including the Kandi areas. He recalled that even the Sheikh Abdullah-led government had initiated the Ravi-Tawi Canal project to resolve irrigation and drinking water issues, but successive delays have only worsened the crisis over the years due to the Punjab Government.
