The Union government’s order vesting more powers with the lieutenant governor of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir virtually bypassing elected government raises doubts on its commitment to the restoration of democracy and installation of a popular government there. It would also question the present dispensation’s reading about the issues that keep Jammu and Kashmir on the boil.
The government, by amending rules framed under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, has empowered the lieutenant governor to make decisions on crucial matters such as police and all-India services officers and granting sanctions for prosecution in various cases. Key decisions, like in all states, used to be taken by the ministries concerned before they reach the governor for approval. Now the proposals will be routed to the L-G directly through the chief secretary. The L-G has also got the power to make key appointments related to the administration of the law including that of the advocate-general and other law officers.
The government may argue the changes as simple amendments to the “transaction rules” which are issued to avoid ambiguity. It may, however, be remembered that the Union government has repeatedly made its intention known to the public to hold elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and restore statehood to the UT. It is under obligation, as per the order of the Supreme Court, to the restore statehood “at the earliest” and the Election Commission of India is to hold elections to the Assembly by September 30 this year. Once the UT got its statehood back, the powers of the governor will be those which have been prescribed in the Constitution for the governors of all Indian states. It is therefore for the government to come up with a better, pliable interpretation for the present move.
However, on a pessimistic note, it appears that the latest step aligns smug with the government’s unrealistic and ad hoc approach to the problems of the border region. The NDA leadership had been harping on the presence of Article 370 in the Constitution as the root cause of all the problems in Jammu and Kashmir and its abrogation would be the silver bullet for all its ills. The Article was in fact an article of faith between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and India but the saffron alliance would have none of it, and it went ahead and hollowed it out. Five years later, it has been proved that Article 370 had little or no role in the troubles there; in fact, the tragedy continues to play out. Terrorists continue to strike at their will and with increased local support; Indian soldiers continue to lay their lives in protecting their own fellow citizens; pilgrimages have become more dangerous an affair now. This, despite the fact that the people of Jammu and Kashmir live in an open jail under surveillance. This is a zero-sum game.
While the security situation has worsened, people’s faith in the democratic process has increased many-fold as is evidenced in the record participation of people in the recently held Lok Sabha election. In fact, solutions to the problems Jammu and Kashmir presents lie not in the outdated, myopic, sectarian and unpopular stock of the saffron brigade but in the democratic and constitutional processes. It is time the government realised that India is not a country that can be ruled by decrees, and it applies to Jammu and Kashmir which is very much part of India.
