Jammu and Kashmir: The Election Commission of India will hold an important press conference today (August 16) to announce the election schedule for Jammu and Kashmir. However, even before this announcement, a massive administrative reshuffle has been done in the state. The government has transferred about 200 civil and police officers.
88 various officers were transferred on Thursday
The government transferred 88 IAS and KAS officers of various departments on Thursday (August 15) evening, while today (August 16) 33 police officers were shifted from IG to SSP, including IG CID, range DIG and full charge of district SSP. Sources say another transfer list is likely to be released in the next 3 hours.
After the transfer of officers, Omar Abdullah made the posting
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) leader Omar Abdullah posted on social media about the transfer of these officers. In which he wrote that 'The Jammu and Kashmir administration had to call officers to work on Independence Day, I have come to know that these officers had no idea that the Election Commission would announce the election dates today. The bigger reason is that the Election Commission should look at this transfer order from the point of view of free and fair elections.' The National Conference suspects that the Lieutenant Governor's intentions are partisan.
Jammu and Kashmir was converted into a Union Territory
After the removal of Article 370 in 2019, Jammu and Kashmir was converted into a Union Territory. Since then, the political parties there have been demanding the return of full statehood. The government was repeatedly saying that first elections will be held and then statehood will be given. According to Election Commission sources, voting can be held in three to four phases in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The voting process will be completed in September and the results can be declared by the end of this month.