(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that coffers of Jammu and Kashmir are empty but there has been some breather from the Centre and Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) have assured support to the government just like they did to the Lieutenant Governor's administration.
“Empty,” Omar, who also holds charge of the Finance Department, said in response to a question on the status of UT's coffers. But at the same time, he added that there has been some breather from the Central Government and they are expecting more.
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“We need help from the Government of India. The Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have assured that just like they supported the Jammu and Kashmir Government during the LG Government, they will support the present Government as well. At the same time, we too need to take some steps for being self-sufficient,'' the Chief Minister said.
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According to Daily Excelsior, he added that J&K faced tough situations during the last 30-35 years but expressed confidence that they will come out of it.
He clarified that the Government is not going to burden the common man with harsh steps in the budget.
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Significantly amid talks of Local Bodies elections in April and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's Republic Day address that these polls will be held shortly, Omar refused to give any timeframe and put counter question to the interviewer:“Are you not tired of elections? Only last year, two elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir (Lok Sabha and Assembly).”
Simultaneously, he said, whenever the elections take place,“we are ready''.
The Chief Minister also strongly batted for restoration of the Upper House saying there is no representation of Kashmiri Pandits and Christians and very few women and Sikhs. All of them need representation and for this, the Upper House is must, he said
J&K had 36-member Upper House but it was dissolved after August 5, 2019 decisions by the Central Government.
To a question as to when five MLAs will be nominated to the House, Omar said they were expecting this to happen on Day one.
Referring to dual control in the UT, he said none can deny this.
“While we have the powers to transfer JKAS officers, it is the Raj Bhawan which has to order transfers and postings of IAS and IPS officers. The Cabinet decisions have to be sent to the LG for approval. Only when he signs, they are returned to us. Law and Order is implemented by Delhi through the LG. Earlier, we used to post the Chief Secretary, Divisional Commissioners and the Deputy Commissioners. Now, we can't. This is the scenario and we have to work with it. But we think this will not last long,'' he asserted.
Omar said the task has been challenging as he earlier worked as the CM of a State and now it is a UT but still we are trying to keep liaison with the people to address their issues.“We have started fulfilling our promises,'' he said, adding the deserving people will get free power units but at the same time the Government has to bring down AT&C losses which are presently 50-55 percent as against 12-15 percent in other States.
Refusing to be called as the“powerless Chief Minister'', Omar, however, candidly admitted that it could take time to fulfill all guarantees mentioned in the NC's election manifesto in a Union Territory but expressed confidence that the UT is not going to last long and they will get Statehood soon.
“Had I been powerless, why would I have been called here? My Cabinet is sitting here. The MLAs are sitting in the front row. If they are all powerless, the bureaucrats should have been sitting there. I won't say, we have 100 percent powers but we have 70 to 80 percent powers,'' the CM said.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kashmir during Z Morh tunnel inauguration early this month, Omar said he (the PM) reiterated that he will fulfill the promise of restoring Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.“We are after this (the Statehood) and we will take it. As far as our guarantees are concerned, I have made it clear to the people that some of them can be fulfilled in the UT and we will do that while for a few others, they will have to wait”
On the fate of two Resolutions adopted by the Cabinet and the Assembly, Omar said both the Resolutions exist as none of them has been rejected.
“I handed over the Cabinet Resolution to the Prime Minister. The Resolution passed by the Assembly is more important as one of the Resolutions passed by the House was rejected by the Cabinet in Atal Behari Vajpayee Government without wasting any time. This one has not been rejected. Anyone can pass the Resolution which is rejected by the Centre and then it will be called as the powerless Assembly. The Resolution should be such which is not rejected by the Government of India,'' the Chief Minister said.
It may be mentioned here that the Autonomy Resolution passed by the J&K Assembly in its special session during the Farooq Abdullah Government (1996-2002) was immediately rejected by the Government. Current Omar Abdullah Government passed the first Resolution in the first session of the Assembly (November 4-8) seeking special status and guarantees for Jammu and Kashmir while the second Resolution was approved in first Cabinet meeting seeking restoration of Statehood. The Statehood Resolution was handed over by Omar to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
Without naming PDP, he said their leaders came to my office, hugged me and described as masterstroke the passing of Resolution in the Legislative Assembly. But they were snubbed by their leaders and then they started criticizing the Resolution.
“At least, my colleagues and I are not fooling the people. If they (the BJP Government at the Centre) had to restore Articles 370 and 35-A, why did they abrogate them? These are their (the BJP's) political issues. If we say we will bring them back immediately, we will be making the people fool. But no Government is going to last forever. If the BJP waited for abrogating the special status, why can't we wait for bringing them back? We are committed to this but are not in a hurry. I have learnt a lot. My white hairs are an example,'' Omar said.
On transfer of an officer from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) after an alleged scam in the Smart City Srinagar, he said this shouldn't have happened but added that the investigation agency is not under their command and control.“Had this been under our control, this wouldn't have happened''.
Omar said Deputy Chief Minister (Surinder Choudhary) and Advisor (Nasir Aslam Wani) had gone to meet Aga Ruhullah, NC MP from Srinagar not without his consent.
On the issue of reservations, he said a Cabinet Sub Committee has been set up and it has been given six months time to advise the Government. Also, the High Court is also hearing the issue and has made it clear that ongoing recruitments will be subject to the outcome of the court orders.
On the development front, he said back-to-back elections last year leading to imposition of Model Code of Conduct hampered speed of works and utilization of funds but in the last quarter of the financial year, we are trying to speed up work. Priorities have also been taken from the MLAs.
Asserting that the private sector investment is not visible on ground, Omar said some efforts have been made through the package but it will not reach far off areas of Jammu and Kashmir and will remain confined to National Highway corridor like Kathua, Samba, Bari Brahamana and Jammu.“The industry is not going to reach Pulwama, Shopian, Rajouri-Poonch or Doda. We need to give a boost to tourism, agriculture, horticulture etc to benefit the people.''
Speaking to reporters after the function, Omar said it is Parliament which will take a final call on the Uniform Civil Code and the Waqf (amendment) bill.
Uttarakhand on Monday became the first State to implement UCC with the ruling BJP fulfilling a major commitment made ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls, while the Joint Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill adopted all amendments proposed by the ruling BJP-led NDA members and negated every change moved by opposition members.
“Let them do what they want to do till a law is enacted for the country. Finally, it is Parliament which will decide on this and not the individual UTs or States,” he said, reacting to the implementation of the UCC in Uttarakhand.
In response to another question related to the Waqf bill, he said the Parliamentary Committee is still holding discussions and the Government is not implementing any law.
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