NAVVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: A day after chief minister Omar Abdullah alleged bureaucratic overreach in the Assembly’s functioning of Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly, Congress MLA Nizamuddin Bhat on Tuesday said it challenges the powers of the Speaker and the government. Bhat sought a discussion in the house on the communication from the Chief Secretary and Law Secretary regarding the statehood resolution and urged Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to include the law secretary’s letter in the House record.
Bhat was referring to the chief secretary and law secretary writing letters to Rather over the statehood resolution brought by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that was adopted by the assembly on Monday. “The chief secretary and law secretary had written a letter, advising against the resolution. This challenges the powers of the Speaker and the government. I want to understand that can the officers act as government?” the MLA from Bandipora said.
On Monday CM Omar Abdullah who also holds the Law portfolio, said he had no prior knowledge of the letters and learnt about them only after the Assembly Secretariat received them.
Deliberating on the need for the resolution and the restoration of statehood, the chief minister highlighted the practical governance challenges of operating as a Union Territory. He cited severe bureaucratic overreach and administrative paralysis. He said the Speaker had received an opinion from the law department regarding the resolution, but he was not aware of it.
“As the Law minister, I have no information; the law secretary sent an opinion to you (Speaker). The chief secretary also sent you an opinion on the resolution. But I am unaware. This can only happen in a UT, not a state,” Abdullah asserted.
Nizamuddin Bhat said the government was formed under law and constitution after elections. “If the powers of this House are so curtailed, why are we here? What are we doing?” he questioned. Bhat said the ministers were responsible to the people, but they are being “tied down”. “They (bureaucrats) are challenging the authority of the Speaker. This letter should be made part of the record and discussed in the House. Is this Legislature a panchayat?” he said. Referring to Article 239 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, Bhat said neither provides a basis for curbing the authority of the legislature.
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference MLA Nazir Gurezi said the BJP was challenging the dignity of this House.
Meanwhile, National Conference Chief Spokesperson and MLA Tanveer Sadiq on Tuesday questioned the role of bureaucracy in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it underlines why the UT needs statehood back. Talking to X, Tanveer Sadiq wrote, “Next time anyone asks why J&K needs statehood, just read this.”
“Can you imagine a state where senior bureaucrats write to the Assembly Speaker seeking to stop a resolution moved by the elected Chief Minister — without even the knowledge of the concerned minister?” he said. “This isn’t about one government or one party. It is about who is ultimately accountable to the people. That is precisely why J&K needs its statehood back,” he added.
The episode has thus opened a broader debate over the constitutional and administrative relationship between an elected Assembly and the bureaucracy in Jammu and Kashmir’s present Union Territory framework.
