Latest news with #NC-led
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Reservation issue: J&K govt betraying general category youth: AIP
Jun 22, 2025 09:00 AM IST Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) has launched a scathing attack on the Omar Abdullah-led state government, accusing it of shifting priorities and betraying the open merit / general category youth by deliberately stalling the cabinet sub-committee report on reservations. The party further accused the NC-led administration of governance by evasion and appeasement. (File) AIP chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi criticised the government for its shocking admission that no serious deliberation took place on the report and that it now plans to rework it. He said this reflects a pattern of apathy, deception and calculated avoidance of responsibility towards merit-based candidates. According to AIP, National Conference (NC) has turned the promise of justice into a political farce. After six months of committee meetings and public engagement, the government's failure to present the report in the cabinet reveals a deliberate attempt to bury the issue. The party further accused the NC-led administration of governance by evasion and appeasement. The lack of timeline, commitment and conviction, they said, indicates that the government is reluctant to defend merit and fairness and instead prefers to issue hollow reassurances without taking real action. Describing justice for general category candidates as a constitutional necessity rather than a political choice, AIP termed the government's reluctance to act as an act of political cowardice. AIP accused the ruling dispensation of hiding behind bureaucratic language to avoid confronting the core issue.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Farooq Abdullah warns of Supreme Court move if Jammu & Kashmir statehood not restored
National Conference's Farfooq Abdullah SRINAGAR: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah blamed the "dual power structure" in the Union territory for the slow pace of development and warned that his party would move SC if statehood isn't restored soon. It is the first time NC has openly threatened legal action on restoration of statehood for Jammu & Kashmir. Abdullah said Saturday that people's expectations remain unmet due to the lack of full statehood despite formation of an elected govt in Oct 2024 - the first in J&K since 2018 and after region was carved into two UTs in 2019. "People hoped the new govt would address their demands, but the absence of statehood is a major obstacle," he said after a meeting with party delegates at Kokernag in south Kashmir's Anantnag district. "How can we fulfil aspirations without statehood? Only with it can we have a full-fledged cabinet capable of addressing public issues effectively," he added. Abdullah said his party had launched an outreach campaign to make people aware of "certain political forces ready to compromise their interests". He added that after NC-led coalition's eight months in office, he remains hopeful about the return of statehood. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo "We have been waiting patiently. But if the delay continues, we will have little option but to approach Supreme Court." The "power struggle" between National Conference-led elected govt and lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha has grown increasingly public. This month, cabinet ministers accused Sinha of interfering in administrative decisions reserved for govt. Sinha had pushed back. "I have no authority over development departments. Governance is elected govt's responsibility. I only control police & can deploy them where needed. Roads, water, electricity, agriculture - all are under elected govt," he said. Peoples Conference president Sajad Lone backed the demand for statehood but criticised NC's record in office. "UT status certainly limits development and is a humiliating existence. But whatever powers exist, NC govt has not utilised them. Instead, they've weaponised govt transfers and discriminated against constituencies they didn't win," Lone said. He also questioned the concentration of power in CMO. "CM has 32 depts. Is it humanly possible to run 32 departments?" Lone asked.
Hindustan Times
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
J&K: Expect cabinet expansion soon, says minister
Good news is expected soon on the expansion of the cabinet, cabinet minister Satish Sharma said on Sunday. While talking to reporters on the sidelines of a sporting event, Sharma said that there were multiple discussions taken up by the government on cabinet expansion. 'Cabinet expansion is the prerogative of (chief minister) Omar Abdullah and there has been discussion on this many times. In the coming days, we will get some good news,' Sharma said. After forming the government in October 2024, chief minister Omar Abdullah had taken oath along with just five members of his cabinet. The five members included deputy chief minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary and ministers Sakeena Itoo, Javed Ahmad Rana, Javid Ahmad Dar and Satish Sharma (who won as an independent candidate). Eight months have passed since taking oath and there has been no forward movement on cabinet expansion so far. The Opposition has raised voices against the delay in cabinet expansion while they cite the overwhelming mandate given by people to the government. Peoples Democratic Party's Pulwama MLA Waheed Para said, 'J&K CM Omar Abdullah says he's running a hybrid government, but the people of J&K gave a historic, one-sided mandate to end the political vacuum and dismantle bureaucratic rule. So why no cabinet expansion yet? Why is power still concentrated in the hands of just a few? This isn't democracy. The delay shows a clear unwillingness to share power and deliver on governance.' On Saturday, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Doda MLA Mehraj Malik withdrew his support to the NC-led government, criticising Omar Abdullah's government for 'no development work'. 'Kejriwal resigned after 49 days when he couldn't serve the people the way he wanted. Omar has been in power for over nine months but hasn't delivered,' he said. Sharma said they would talk to Mehraj as he 'supports secular forces'.
Indian Express
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘CM Omar has not delivered': AAP's lone J&K MLA withdraws support to NC govt
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s lone MLA in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Mehraj Malik, has withdrawn his support to the National Conference-led government in the Union Territory (UT), citing its 'failure' to serve the public over the last nine months it has been in office. Late on Saturday, the 37-year-old firebrand AAP legislator took to social media to announce his withdrawal of support. 'I, Mehraj Malik, MLA from Doda, hereby withdraw my support to the NC in the government coalition. This decision has been taken in the best interest of my people of J&K, whose trust and welfare will always be my top priority,' he said in a post on X. Malik, in another post on X, accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his government of allegedly failing to deliver, pointing out that 'genuine public service required commitment not justification'. '(AAP national convener and former Delhi CM Arvind) Kejriwal ji resigned after 49 days (in 2013) when he couldn't serve the people the way he wanted. Omar Abdullah ji has been in power for over nine months, yet hasn't delivered anything – not because he can't, but because he won't. Public service demands intent, not excuses,' Malik said. His withdrawal of support to the Omar-led government, however, does not pose any threat to it, given that the government already has the support of 52 MLAs – seven more than the majority mark – in the 90-member J&K Assembly. A challenge for the government now would be managing the outspoken AAP leader on the floor of the Assembly, from where he has frequently taken on both the J&K government and the BJP-led Centre. During the Budget Session earlier this year, Malik had been highly critical of the Opposition BJP and the ex-CM Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing them of alleged 'rampant corruption' and causing the downgrade of the erstwhile J&K state to a UT. However, he may now have to ensure a working relationship with the BJP and the PDP in case his seat in the House is shifted from the Treasury side to the Opposition benches. During the last Budget Session, he was allegedly beaten outside the Assembly over his purported remarks against former CM and late PDP leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and for mocking a protest by the BJP members against the NC-led government. Trouble erupted when Malik was talking to some media persons, and some PDP leaders caught hold of him for his 'derogatory remarks', leading to an altercation. Just a day earlier, the AAP legislator was involved in another altercation with the same PDP leaders within the Assembly complex. The BJP legislators, who were protesting nearby, and were already angry with Malik for describing their protests as 'jamawara (crowd)', also joined in. Malik has faced issues outside the Assembly, too. In May, he was booked by the police after a doctor at the Doda Government Medical College Hospital accused him of alleged criminal intimidation and gender abuse. He was booked under sections 356 (criminal intimidation), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman), 351 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Malik had previously been critical of the functioning of hospitals in Doda, even raising the issue in the House. This was however not the first time Malik's name figured in an FIR. In his affidavit for the 2024 Assembly elections, Malik declared half a dozen FIRs registered against him for offences ranging from criminal intimidation and house trespass to promoting enmity between groups. In the Assembly elections, Malik, a postgraduate from Jammu University, became a first-time MLA when he scored the AAP's maiden victory in J&K by defeating the BJP's Gajay Singh Rana in the Doda constituency by 4,538 votes. The AAP had fought its debut election in J&K last year, winning one of the seven seats it contested with a vote share of 0.52%. Prior to the Assembly polls, Malik had won in the 2020 District Development Council elections from Doda's Kahara seat, contesting as an Independent. He then unsuccessfully contested the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency last year, again as an Independent. Locals who know Malik say that the rows he has been involved in over the years have played a key role in his rise in politics. Malik joined the AAP in 2013 – a year after he finished his postgraduation – and soon drew attention by flagging local problems such as lack of drinking water and electricity at medical facilities and poor education infrastructure. He was appointed the co-chairman of the AAP's state coordination committee in 2022. He also gained support in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, when he took to the streets with local issues. Last year, he had also spearheaded a protest against the eviction drive in Jammu's Bathindi.
Indian Express
14-06-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Amid Omar Abdullah soft-pedalling, why NC is hardening stance against L-G Sinha?
Jammu and Kashmir BJP leader Manzoor Ahmad Bhat visited the Bone and Joint (B&J) Hospital in Srinagar Friday, following which he, in a statement, said that he 'reviewed' the functioning of the hospital. He also called for 'prompt appointment of the Medical Superintendent' in the hospital. The BJP's former media in-charge in the Valley, Bhat currently does not hold any post in the party. While sources said that Bhat visited the hospital to see a patient and was visibly upset when he asked for a meeting with the Medical Superintendent (MS), which could not materialise because of the acting MS's busy schedule, the tone and tenor of his statement was seen in a section of J&K political circles as 'a reflection of the BJP's grip on power in the Union Territory despite the elected National Conference (NC)-led government being in place'. It is such a perceived proximity of the principal Opposition BJP to the power centres in the UT that seem to be fuelling resentment in the ruling NC, which came to the fore Thursday when senior NC leader and J&K Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary accused the BJP of allegedly running a 'proxy government' through Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. Without taking names, Choudhary said if someone thought that he could 'crush the mandate of the people' he would not be allowed because 'the government is not scared and is ready to fight for the people'. In an apparent reference to the BJP, Choudhary alleged: 'The government is ours but someone else is running the proxy government.' He said, 'People have given us a mandate… but what is happening here today? And that's why we keep saying that Jammu and Kashmir should get back statehood.' He also said that some 'people will mend their ways' only after the return of J&K's statehood, which was a thinly-veiled attack on bureaucrats who, NC leaders believe, were taking orders mostly from the Raj Bhawan. Choudhary's tirade against Sinha marked the first direct attack of the NC government on the Centre-appointed L-G. Since October last year, when he took the helm of the NC-led government, CM Omar Abdullah has been treading cautiously in a bid not to upset the Centre amid the party's hope that it would facilitate in early restoration of statehood to J&K. Omar did not openly confront the L-G despite various rows like the one that erupted over the transfer of the Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) and revenue officials by the Raj Bhavan. However, Choudhary's open attack indicated the party's changing position due to its rising frustration over the 'conflicting jurisdictional powers' of the elected government and the L-G, even as the Centre has yet to approve the Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) to define their respective powers across the departments. An NC section believes that Omar's non-confrontational approach towards the Centre and the Raj Bhawan was 'denting' his popularity in the Valley. Some party leaders are also said to be unhappy with his 'docile attitude' in running the government. 'We understand that there is a need to make a balanced approach, given that there are dual power centres. We can't move forward without the Centre's support,' said an NC leader. 'But here it is getting too far, you are asked to bend and you start to crawl. This is not going to help the government or our party. We are losing public respect by doing this.' An NC legislator said Omar needed to put his 'foot down', saying that there has been 'growing anxiety' within the party about the direction the government is taking. 'We know it is very tough to run this government, only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. But many legislators feel that we need to fight at least where the Raj Bhawan is stepping into our jurisdiction,' said another NC MLA. 'The more we are ceding power, the weaker we are becoming. Now, even the bureaucrats feel where the original power lies and they don't want to annoy the Raj Bhawan. The legislators are not even entertained by the bureaucrats now while the BJP leaders and even its karyakartas have an easy access to the corridors of power, especially bureaucracy.' An NC leader, however, said that Choudhary's statement reflected the party's mood. 'The water has gone above the head now and even Omar sahib has spoken about it,' he said. 'If the Deputy Chief Minister talks about something, obviously he would have first discussed it with the Chief Minister'. Some non-BJP Opposition parties, however, claim that the elected government has itself 'ceded power to the Raj Bhawan'. 'There was a strong mandate to the party (NC) and they had the powers to revoke the laws that were framed during the last five years,' said Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and legislator Waheed Para. 'But they (NC) have ceded the power themselves. They have been saying that the business rules don't allow this, business rules don't allow that. They are not fighting for the issues that they were given this mandate for, but instead for transfers. They have reduced themselves to an elected bureaucracy,' Para alleged.
