Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti on Friday accused governor Satyapal Malik of encroaching on democratic space by taking a series of decisions which, according to her, should be assigned to a duly elected government only.
She said if the trend does not stop forthwith, the PDP will be forced to launch a state wide agitation against it.
Ms Mufti said that till a popular government is voted to power, there should be no meddling with constitutional status of J&K or other matters of vital importance to it and the people.
Coming down heavily on the recent decisions taken by the State Administrative Council (SAC) headed by the governor, the former chief minister said that these have created an atmosphere of insecurity among the people in Kashmir.
The PDP leader said that there are reports about the governor’s administration contemplating to give the status of division to Ladakh region of the state.
“There’re autonomous hill development councils already working in Ladakh’s Kargil and Leh districts. If Ladakh is made a separate division, Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley of Jammu division too should be accorded similar status. All of us — PDP, National Conference, and others — agree on this,” she said.
Ms Mufti said, “We would be forced to launch a peaceful agitation if division status is granted to Ladakh and not to Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley.”
She criticised the governor also for his decision of making J&K Bank a public sector undertaking (PSU) and repealing the J&K State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001, known as ‘Roshni Act.’
She said that the decision of repealing the Roshni Act will leave an adverse impact on nomadic Bakerwals and other tribal communities and benefit only businessmen.
Earlier, National Conference had asked the governor’s administration to refrain from taking decisions on important subjects, and sought to remind it of being a make-shift arrangement, until a democratically elected government is in place.
It had urged the governor’s administration to “concentrate on giving sound administration and leaving the complex issues for the elected government to decide upon.”
