J&K Orders Massive Reshuffle in Admin, Police Hours Before Poll Schedule Announcement; Opposition Smells Rat

Srinagar:Hours before the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the assembly poll schedule for Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, the Union Territory’s administration headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha ordered the transfer and posting of nearly two hundred officers in a major administrative reshuffle, the move which raise many eyebrows. Its taking several other administrative decisions in hurry before the imposition of the model code of conduct too has been questioned by the opposition parties.

Former chief minister and opposition National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah said, “Transfers and postings outside (ECI) guidelines should be stopped.” He added that the ECI must take notice of the concerns over the large-scale reshuffle of senior police officers, including the head of J&K CID department before polling.

He said, “We have doubts that this government is helping the BJP and its B, C and D teams. The ECI emphasised free-and-fair polls. We wrote to it on police transfers in the last 24 hours. They should take notice.”

NC president and three-time chief minister Farooq Abdullah while speaking to reporters said that the massive rejig in the administration and police signifies that the L-G administration knew about the announcement beforehand. “The ECI should take note and ask the administration about the motives behind these transfers”, he said.

Earlier the NC’s general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar had asked, “Why has a massive reshuffle been ordered in the police and administration since last evening, and today morning”? He added, “It appears to have been orchestrated by a BJP-appointed Lieutenant Governor to benefit his party and its allies. This move seems clearly intended to undermine the integrity of the electoral process, which restricts such transfers to prevent the ruling party from gaining an undue administrative advantage over the opposition.”

He also said, “The LG government has strategically shaken up the entire administrative setup compromising the principles of free and fair elections. We call on the ECI to thoroughly investigate this blatant attempt and to immediately suspend the implementation of these orders."

PDP’s Iltija Mufti also questioned the L-G administration’s move and said, “Just before the announcement of the poll schedule 150-200 transfers have been ordered abruptly and arbitrarily by the government. Mr. Sinha’s behaviour is full of prejudice and full of bias. Apparently, he wants to help the BJP.”

Senior vice president of JKPCC Ravinder Sharma said, “The sudden reshuffle in the J&K administration and police department and that too on such a major scale has created doubts and apprehensions in the political parties and general public as well. The ECI should take appropriate action.”

The ECI had on July 31 had asked the chief secretaries of the poll-bound states of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand and the UT of J&K to shift officers serving in their home districts and also those who have served in a particular district for three years during the past four years.

The poll body has been following a consistent policy that officers directly connected with the conduct of elections in a poll-bound state or UT are not posted in their home districts or places where they have served for a considerably long period.