{"id":307233,"date":"2018-12-18T11:54:25","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T11:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=307233"},"modified":"2018-12-18T11:54:26","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T11:54:26","slug":"jk-governor-a-man-of-controversies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/jk-governor-a-man-of-controversies\/","title":{"rendered":"J&K Governor: A man of controversies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When Satya Pal Malik was appointed\u00a0 Jammu and Kashmir Governor on August 21, people across the Valley viewed it the BJP\u2019s bid to push its agenda on the abrogation of Article 35 A and 370. Although, Malik did not rake these issues for the last over three months but has been mired with controversies. His actions and statements have even united the rival political parties of the state-the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party and have been widely opposed by other parties including separatists, employees, and traders, overshadowing all the good work that his administration has achieved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Malik whipped a political storm when he claimed that politicians had set aside the J&K Bank\u2019s selection of 582 candidates for appointing their political workers. The revelations made by the Governor took people by surprise who sought investigations.<\/span><\/p>\n

J&K Bank Chairman Parvez Ahmad later in a statement claimed that there were absolute transparency and fairness in the recruitment process. Following which the Governor called JK Bank a \u201cwonderful\u201d institution.<\/span><\/p>\n

He also questioned the functioning of the Public Service Commission, saying that a youth was selected for the Kashmir Administrative Services without appearing for the exam.<\/span><\/p>\n

Malik\u2019s remarks about \u201chuge corruption\u201d plaguing the state did not go well within the political parties. The Peoples Democratic Party called him \u201cdefaming\u201d Kashmir.<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 21, he ordered the dissolution of the 87-member state assembly, that was kept suspended since June 21, following claims for government formation by two groups \u2014 BJP-backed <\/span>Sajad Gani Lone and PDP\u2019s Mehbooba Mufti with the support of NC and Congress.<\/span><\/p>\n

Governor\u2019s cited four main reasons for dissolving the Assembly including \u201cextensive horse-trading and possible <\/span>exchange of money\u201d and the \u201cimpossibility\u201d of forming a stable government by parties with \u201copposing political <\/span>ideologies\u201d. Following which senior <\/span>National Conference leader Omar <\/span>Abdullah demanded an investigation into Governor\u2019s claim that there were horse-trading and the use of money in the attempts towards government formation in the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Governor later said that had he looked towards Delhi for instructions, Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone would have formed the government. \u201cI did not want to be remembered as a dishonest man and so I dissolved the <\/span>assembly,\u201d the Governor had said, hinting towards the Centre\u2019s interference into the functioning of the government. The statement did not go well within the BJP and Peoples Conference.<\/span><\/p>\n

Political analyst professor, Noor <\/span>Mohammad Baba, said that dissolution of the assembly was an advantage for the PDP. \u201cThere was a constant talk going that many PDP MLAs may support the BJP and PC in government formation. As the assembly has been dissolved, there are now fewer chances, the disgruntled may leave the PDP,\u201d Baba added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The day after dissolving the assembly, the State Administrative Council (SAC), headed by Malik, exercised the state government\u2019s controlling 59.3 per cent share in the J&K Bank to convert it from being a privately-run banking entity into a public sector undertaking (PSU). Apart from giving the government (state legislature) unbridled control, it also brought the bank under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The order was issued without any consultation with the bank\u2019s board of directors (comprising the RBI and state government nominees).<\/span><\/p>\n

It was seen another blow to J&K\u2019s constitutionally guaranteed autonomy. The move to alter the status of JK Bank evoked sharp criticism from all political parties, including separatists, traders, and its employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Senior National Conference leader and former finance minister Abdul\u00a0<\/span>Rahim Rather said it has created a <\/span>political interference and will bring JK Bank at par with failing public sector undertakings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is shocking that the JK Bank has been reduced to a public sector undertaking,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bank employees have also <\/span>opposed the decision and have been protesting against the order.<\/span><\/p>\n

Noted economist Professor Nisar Ali said the state administrative council (SAC) approved the proposal of treating the JK Bank as a public sector <\/span>undertaking (PSU) has created fear of <\/span>\u201cuncertainty and desperation\u201d among the stakeholders.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe SAC could have used a term semi-PSU instead PSU to avoid controversy. Having a major shareholding, near about 60 per cent from the state government the majority directors on the board are from the state government. Therefore, the government influences its decision through its directors. The chairman, who happens to be one of the directors, is nominated by the board (who is sponsored by the state government) and approved\/confirmed by RBI. Hence the role of government in respect of the bank has to be specified within the well-drawn redlines,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Columnist Fida Iqbal said a large number of organisations from the socio-political spectrum has raised their voice against this move. \u201cMaybe they are right when they say it is a clandestine move <\/span>towards diluting state\u2019s special status as envisaged in the constitution. Where were they when other vital decisions were taken during their regime to <\/span>impose certain laws that otherwise were not applicable to the state,\u201d he asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGovernments decision to declare JK Bank as PSU cannot be entirely correct especially its timing and the authority to change its shape, but it is not wrong as well as many red arrows point towards the working and health of the bank <\/span>particularly for last more than a year,\u201d <\/span>he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even senior Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called it Delhi\u2019s \u201cploy to crush J&K\u2019s economic independence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The escalating row prompted Malik to allay fears, who reassured to a delegation of bank officers that he would re-examine the order and that the bank would continue to be regulated by the RBI.<\/span><\/p>\n

Malik on November 28 also approved the annulment of the Jammu and Kashmir State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act popularly known as the Roshni Act.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Roshni Act envisaged the transfer of ownership rights of state land to its occupants, subject to the payment of a cost, as determined by the government.\u00a0 The decision to repeal the Roshni Act came after demands from Ankur Sharma, an advocate. Sharma, who was instrumental in setting up the Hindu Ekta Manch to support the accused in the gangrape and murder of the 8-year-old Kuthua girl in January.<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 20, Sharma asked the Governor to withdraw the Act in order to \u201cdefeat the jihadi war in the form of <\/span>demographic invasion of Jammu\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The SAC has ordered cancellation of all pending applications seeking vesting of ownership rights of state lands to <\/span>their occupants.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gujjar and Bakerwal groups have been upset with the repeal of the Act. They said that while the rich and influential managed to grab the benefits, their applications had remained pending.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was also a political storm <\/span>after reports appeared in the media that \u201cchanges\u201d were being proposed to the rules governing the issuance of permanent resident certificates.<\/span><\/p>\n

The former chief minister and leader of National Conference, Omar Abdullah tweeted after he wrote a letter to the Governor, \u201cMy letter to @jandkgovernor on behalf of @JKNC_ placing on record our concern about reports of changes <\/span>being proposed to the J&K permanent residents\u2019 certificate rules.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Malik said his administration was not making or considering any changes in the procedures governing the issuance of permanent resident certificates (PRCs) in Jammu and Kashmir.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs for the matters in the rest of your letter, I would like to highlight that no changes in the procedural rules governing the issue of PR certificates will ever be done without larger consultations with all stakeholders,\u201d the Governor replied.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the Governor administration is mulling to grant the divisional status of Ladakh region. The PDP chief and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has warned agitation if the government did not stop \u201canti-JK\u201d decisions. She accused the Malik of \u201cencroaching\u201d upon political space by raking sensitive issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Senior Congress leader GN Monga has urged the Governor not to raise controversial issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past four years, the people in the state have suffered a lot due to the incompetence and mismanagement of the BJP government. And now it seems same is being repeated during the Governor rule. People of Jammu and Kashmir are paying a heavy price for the failed policies of BJP government,\u201d Monga said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The author is a Srinagar based journalist<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

letters@tehelka.com<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Satya Pal Malik was appointed\u00a0 Jammu and Kashmir Governor on August 21, people across the Valley viewed it the BJP\u2019s bid to push its agenda on the abrogation of Article 35 A and 370. Although, Malik did not rake these issues for the last over three months but has been mired with controversies. His […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":307264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,2205],"tags":[1141,4366],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307233"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307233"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":307276,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307233\/revisions\/307276"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/307264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}