‘I’m well within my domain…I will not cross my limits’: L-G Manoj Sinha

A resolution passed at an emergency meeting of the NC Legislature Party and their allies from Congress and independents held here under the chairmanship of Mr. Abdullah said that anyone undermining the mandate of the elected government is disrespecting the people of J&K and their mandate.

The meeting was called by the Chief Minister amid the bitterness caused between him and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha following the J&K General Administration Department (GAD), in a major administrative rejig earlier this week, ordered the transfer and posting of 48 Jammy and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officers including 14 additional deputy commissioners and 26 sub-divisional magistrates after receiving a directive from the L-G’s office.

The move is being seen by many including those within the NC and its alliance partners-Congress and CPIM- a deliberate attempt by Mr. Sinha to take full control of the bureaucracy. According to the sources close to Mr. Abdullah, he is “very upset” at Lt. Governor’s “bossiness” and his repeatedly trying to run the Chief Minister’s office down by taking important administrative decisions and getting into the elected government’s work. Friday’s meeting was also attended by NC president Farooq Abdullah.

NC chief spokesman and MLA Tanvir Sadiq while briefing the reporters on the deliberations of the “crucial” meeting said that all the participants unanimously asserted that their coordination with the Lt. Governor and the Centre should not be misread. “We are trying to maintain dignity in governance, but that should not be taken as a sign of political weakness or submission,” he said, adding “Don’t push us to the wall.”

However, Lt. Governor Mr. Sinha, while responding to criticism, has claimed that all the decisions he has taken, so far, including transferring the 48 JKAS officials, falls within his domain. “I want to make it clear. The (J&K) State Reorganization Act was passed by the Parliament in 2019. And I say it with full responsibility that I have done nothing outside it. I’m well within my domain and I will never do anything beyond my domain. I know my limits and I will not cross my limits,” he said.

The sources said that the NC MLAs and their alliance partners assured the Chief Minister their full support and asked him to take all the steps that are required to maintain the dignity of his office and ensure the huge mandate he received in the Assembly elections is not undermined either by the Centre or the Lt. Governor appointed by it.

Congress chief whip Nizamuddin Bhat who also attended the meeting said that both long-term and short-term issues were discussed in detail. “All MLAs stand firmly behind the leader of the House. On sensitive matters like the Waqf Bill and public mandate, there is unanimous agreement that these issues must be resolved through dialogue with the Centre,” he said.

As a section of the partymen reportedly wanted the NC MLAs and their alliance partners to submit resignations en-mass to the Assembly Speaker Abdur Rahim Rather to protest over the Lt. Governor’s “imperiousness”, the party leadership has termed the suggestion as “incautious” and said that such a step could pave the way for manipulation of the numbers by the BJP and its “proxies”. At Friday’s meeting, many participants suggested that, instead, the floor of the Assembly should be fully used to voice the members’ concerns over the difficulties the Abdullah government is facing towards functioning effectively under the current “dual control” structure and seek an end to it.

Last month, the J&K Cabinet headed by Mr. Abdullah had finalised the business rules and subsequently submitted these to the Lt. Governor for his approval. The Chief Minister had said that since J&K continued to be a Union Territory and the demand of restoring statehood to it had not been conceded by the Centre yet, it was necessary to establish business rules for clarity.

He had hoped that the Lt. Governor would approve these to facilitate smooth governance without confusion. Mr. Sinha, in turn, had reportedly sent the business rules approved by the Cabinet to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) whose nod is still awaited. At Friday’s meeting, the participants expressed dismay over the “unnecessary delay” in disposal of the matter.

Weeks before J&K Assembly elections were held in September-October last year, the MHA had extended the ambit of jurisdiction of J&K Lt. Governor’s powers by amending the Transaction of Business Rules. The July 12 move, amending the transaction of business of the Government of Union Territory of J&K Rules, 2019, were aimed at strengthening the role of the Lt. Governor in maintaining law and order and making him more potent towards decision-making in administrative matters.

According to amendments made by the MHA, the proposals relating to transfer of administrative secretaries and cadre posts of All India Service (AIS) officers shall be submitted to the L-G by the administrative secretary, General Administration Department through the Chief Secretary. “Provided also that in respect of matters connected with posting and transfer of Administrative Secretaries and cadre posts of All India Services officers, a proposal shall be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor by the Administrative Secretary, General Administration Department through the Chief Secretary,” the notification issued by the MHA read.

The situation in which the Lt. Government enjoys more powers than the Chief Minister in many ways was seen by the critics as akin to Delhi; hence vehemently criticised by the opposition parties including Congress and NC.

A second resolution passed by the NC MLAs and their alliance partners at Friday’s meeting pertains to the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Parliament.