look news india
New Delhi, July 13 (HS). Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge has reacted sharply to giving more powers to the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir. Giving his reaction on social media on Saturday, Kharge said that the central government's betrayal of Jammu and Kashmir continues unabated. He said that the central government wants to delay the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. It wants to keep the state government at the mercy of the Lieutenant Governor.
Kharge has said on X-post that amending the rules under Section 55 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 and inserting new sections giving more powers to the LG has only two meanings. First, even though the Supreme Court has made assembly elections mandatory by September 30, 2024, the Modi government wants to delay the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Second, even though full statehood has been restored, it wants to keep the newly elected state government at the mercy of the LG.
It is noteworthy that the Home Ministry has amended the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act. After the decision of the Home Ministry, the scope of the administrative role of the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir will increase. After this amendment, the Lieutenant Governor will now have more powers in matters related to police, law and order, AIS (All India Services). Till now, the approval of the Finance Department was necessary for matters related to AIS (in which the consent of the Finance Department was necessary) and their transfers and appointments, but now the Lieutenant Governor has got more powers in these matters as well. Apart from this, now the proposals related to the appointment of Advocate General, law officers and giving or refusing permission to prosecute, filing an appeal will first be placed before the Lieutenant Governor.
The Home Ministry has notified the amended rules under Section 55 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019. New sections defining the role of the Lieutenant Governor have been added in it. The notification states that any proposal related to police, law and order, AIS and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to exercise the discretion of the Lieutenant Governor under the law will not require the prior consent of the Finance Department, provided that the proposal is placed before the Lieutenant Governor through the Chief Secretary.