Srinagar: National Conference (NC) and its alliance partners today opposed the Waqaf Bill passed by the Parliament and also vehemently opposed LG Manoj Sinha for ordering transfers of JKAS officers without consulting the elected government.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah convened an urgent meeting of the National Conference (NC) legislative members and alliance partners on Friday at the Gupkar residence of Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, amid escalating friction with the Raj Bhawan over recent bureaucratic transfers and the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill.
The two-hour meeting, attended by coalition lawmakers, resulted in the adoption of two resolutions condemning what the NC described as “encroachment” on the authority of Jammu and Kashmir’s elected government.
The meeting came in the backdrop of an order by the Lieutenant Governor’s administration earlier this week, transferring 48 Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officers.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, NC chief spokesperson said that the meeting opposed the Waqf Amendment Bill, “which we believe targets minorities”. He said the second resolution addressed attempts to undermine the mandate of the elected government.
He said that alliance’s coordination with the Lieutenant Governor (LG) or the Centre should not be mistaken for weakness.
“We are maintaining dignity in governance, but that must not be interpreted as submission,” he warned.
Congress leader Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, representing his party at the meeting, underscored the unity of the coalition.
“Every legislator in the alliance remains steadfastly aligned with the head of the assembly and issues like the Waqf Bill and the erosion of elected powers demand “serious dialogue” with New Delhi.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday defended his recent order transferring 48 Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officials, saying he knows his limits and would never cross them.
Sinha made the remarks at a media event in Delhi on a day Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a legislature party meeting here of his National Conference and its allies, including the Congress.
In a short video clip from his News18 event, the Lt Governor says, “I would like to make it clear that the J&K Reorganisation Act was passed by the Parliament in 2019. And I am saying with great responsibility that I have not done anything outside this Act.
“I am well within my domain and I will never do anything outside of that. I know my limits and I will never cross those limits,” he says in the clip, which has been widely circulated on social media.
