Jammu Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Saturday sought to end the ongoing rumours of discontent among a group of National Conference MLAs, maintaining that the party leadership has addressed the issue through discussions with the legislators.
Talking to reporters after paying obeisance at Bawe Wali Mata temple on the eve of the Diwali festival, Choudhary said National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah held discussions with all the MLAs and that there was no reason to prolong the controversy, urging the media to focus on other pressing issues confronting Jammu and Kashmir.
On Friday, the National Conference leadership met with the dissident MLAs in Srinagar, dismissing speculation about internal rifts within the party as “baseless rumours”.
The meeting was held to pacify party legislators reportedly unhappy at being omitted from the council of ministers.
“The expressions on their faces make it quite clear… When my leader, the NC president, and the chief minister discussed the matter with all the MLAs, that was the end of it,” the deputy chief minister said.
He urged the media to move on to other pressing issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir, questioning whether repeated coverage of controversies surrounding the National Conference would help resolve unemployment or ensure the regularisation of daily-wage workers.
He also accused sections of the media of focusing more on political controversies than on issues concerning the people of the J&K.
Choudhary questioned the media’s silence on local representation in key administrative positions, citing the retirement of former chief secretary Atal Dulloo and the absence of an extension.
“…If officials in other parts of the country were granted extensions, why was Dulloo not given one (after his retirement on November 1)? If a chief secretary has to be appointed in J&K, why can’t someone from the region itself be appointed? If Dulloo was not to be given an extension, they could have appointed someone local from here, whether Hindu or Muslim. At least that person would have been a son of the soil,” he said.
Choudhary questioned whether the BJP had ever raised the issue, alleging that the party appeared to be following a narrative rather than highlighting concerns specific to J&K.
