Jammu and Kashmir L-G Manoj Sinha with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. File
| Photo Credit: IMRAN NISSAR
As the elected government in Jammu and Kashmir completed 50 days on Thursday, the friction between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha is only growing starker over a range of issues, including the continuance of Advocate-General in office and the transfers of officers of key departments.
It’s reliably learnt from senior officials in the government that Mr. Abdullah’s decision to allow Advocate-General D.C. Raina to continue to represent J&K in courts could not materialise because of the opposition from the Raj Bhavan.
Appointed by Governor Satya Pal Malik in November 2019, Mr. Raina resigned from the post on October 19, 2024, days after Mr. Abdullah and his Council of Ministers took over the reins of J&K.
However, Mr. Abdullah turned down Mr. Raina’s resignation and decided to let him continue in the post. Mr. Raina too had confirmed the development. The Advocate-General, however, was conspicuously missing from courts.
HC poser
On Wednesday, a Division Bench of the J&K High Court, while hearing a petition challenging the new reservation policy of the Union Territory, observed, “Looking into the nature of the case, it would be essential to hear the learned Advocate-General in this case. However, the UT of J&K is without the learned Advocate-General.”
When contacted, senior government officials said Mr. Raina was “disallowed from continuing as Advocate-General” on the directions from the Raj Bhavan.
Mr. Raina had earlier served as the J&K Advocate-General in 2008, 2016 and 2018.
In the backdrop of growing friction, Mr. Abdullah, who returned from a pilgrimage from Saudi Arabia this week, reportedly took exception to the recent transfers carried out by Mr. Sinha in the administration.
Four days ago, four officers – three Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and one J&K Administrative Service officer– were transferred in the J&K administration. Vishesh Paul Mahajan, a JKAS officer, serving as the Reasi Deputy Commissioner, was transferred and appointed as the Director, Tourism, Jammu. Mr. Sinha has a mandate to transfer only IAS officers in the administration, government sources said. They said the transfers were a bid by the Raj Bhavan to “curtail the powers of the elected government”. Sources said that piqued by the development, Mr. Abdullah held a meeting of the General Administration Department (GAD) and reportedly passed orders to attach the JKAS officer with the GAD.
No clarity on rules
The friction came to the fore in the wake of lack of business rules defining the mandate of the L-G, Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers in the newly carved Union Territory, where elections took place after a gap of 10 years earlier this year. Official sources said the government had sent the business rules for vetting to constitutional experts. These will be forwarded to the Union government for concurrence.
According to the J&K Reorganisation Act, the Council of Ministers will advise the L-G on allocation of business to the Ministers; convenient transaction of business with the Ministers, including the procedure to be adopted in case of a difference of opinion between the L-G and the Council of Ministers or a Minister.
Published – December 06, 2024 01:31 am IST