Mehbooba Mufti sworn in as Chief Minister

With two slots vacant, Council of Ministers balanced as per BJP’s demand

Karra boycotts Mehbooba’s oath-taking, protests Naeem’s and Drabu’s induction

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

_______

JAMMU, April 4: Ending nearly three-month-long Governor’s rule following her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s death on January 7, Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti was on Monday sworn in as the 13^th Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and head of the second PDP-BJP coalition, alongwith 22 members of her Council of Ministers at a low-key function at Raj Bhawan.

Even as nearly 1,400 guests, mostly leaders and activists of the two ruling parties, attended the swearing-in ceremony, very few of the prominent leaders were conspicuous by their presence. They included former Chief Ministers Dr Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, even as all other National Conference (NC) leaders---with exception of Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, were absent and Congress boycotted the event to register its protest against the BJP regime’s treatment of the recent political crises in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Leaders of National Panthers Party were also absent. However, legislators of both the coalition parties participated in the swearing-in ceremony.

Low-key event

Contrary to Mufti Sayeed’s oath-taking on March 1, 2015, when a galaxy of the BJP leaders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, made it a high-profile event, the entourage from the Centre on Monday was limited to only three union Ministers---Venkaiah Naidu, Harsimrat Kour and Dr Jitendra Singh---besides BJP’s National General Secretary Ram Madhav. Senior television journalist Rajat Sharma accompanied Ms Kour.

Governor Narendra Nath Vohra administered oath of office and secrecy to 56-year-old Mehbooba Mufti at 11.00 a.m. when the Central leaders were still on way to Raj Bhawan. She took oath in Urdu. From the PDP side, all but Haseeb Drabu and Basharat Bukhari opted to take oath in Urdu. While as Drabu chose English, Bukhari took oath in chaste Kashmiri. On the other hand, all BJP nominees, except Abdul Gani Kohli, Chering Dorjay, Lal Singh and Sajjad Lone, took oath in Hindi. While as Lal Singh read out the script in Dogri, Kohli, Lone and Dorjay took oath in English.

Equal share

As compared to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s team of 25 Ministers---which had 11 Cabinet Ministers (including CM) from PDP and 8 Cabinet Ministers from BJP side, besides 3 each Ministers of State from PDP and BJP---Governor inducted 8 each Cabinet Ministers of PDP and BJP besides the CM. He also inducted 3 each of PDP and BJP as Ministers of Sate, leaving two slots vacant. With this BJP has significantly realised its objective of having equal number of Ministers, as that of PDP, in the Council of Ministers. Now both the parties have 8 each Cabinet Ministers and 3 each Ministers of State in the Council, besides the CM who is from PDP.

BJP activists sounded jubilant that the “anomaly” stood removed with the induction of 11 each Ministers from PDP and BJP. However, the PDP leaders insisted that Ms Mufti would induct two more of the PDP’s Ministers in her Cabinet “at an appropriate time”. They refused to accept that Ms Mufti had surrendered two of her Cabinet berths.

6 Mufti Ministers dropped

 In a significant development, six of Mufti Sayeed’s Ministers---4 from PDP and 2 from BJP---were not inducted in Mehbooba’s Council of Ministers. Mehbooba dropped high-profile Minister of Works in Sayeed’s Cabinet and longtime manager of PDP’s finances Syed Altaf Bukhari, Minister of Revenue in Sayeed’s Cabinet Javed Mustafa Mir besides Ministers of State Abdul Majid Paddar and Mohammad Ashraf Mir. BJP dropped Minister of Irrigation in Sayeed’s Cabinet Sukhnandan Kumar and the former Minister of State (Finance) Pawan Gupta.

Son of the senior BJP late Lala Shiv Charan Gupta, Pawan Gupta had associated himself with BJP after turning a rebel, contesting as an Independent candidate and defeating BJP’s official candidate in Udhampur in 2014 Assembly elections. He was a favourite of Rajnath Singh-led BJP but Amit Shah’s team did not grant him ticket.

4 new faces inducted

Even as PDP did not induct any new face in the Cabinet, BJP introduced MLA Suchetgarh Sham Lal Choudhary in place of Sukhnandan Kumar in the Cabinet. BJP repeated two of its MOSs Sunil Sharma and Priya Sethi and replaced Pawan Gupta with MLA Reasi Ajay Nanda.

 Of the three of Sayeed’s MOSs, PDP repeated only Asiea Naqash, MLA from Hazratbal and the Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha member Tariq Hamid Karra’s sister-in-law. It replaced Abdul Majid Paddar and Mohammad Ashraf Mir with Syed Farooq Andrabi and Zahoor Ahmad Mir. Andrabi, who defeated J&K Pradesh Congress Committee President and former Minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir in Dooru segment of Anantnag district, happens to be a close relative of Ms Mufti. Zahoor Mir, whose father Abdul Aziz Mir, then MLA Pampore, was gunned down by militants in 2002, has won all Assembly elections in Pampore since 2002-03.

Tariq Karra’s boycott

In another significant development, PDP’s founder member and incumbent Lok Sabha member from Central Kashmir, Tariq Hamid Karra, boycotted Mehbooba Mufti’s swearing-in ceremony. He said that with his boycott he was registering his protest against the induction of three of the PDP’s leaders---Altaf Bukhari, Naeem Akhtar and Haseeb Drabu. Bukhari was dropped but Naeem Akhtar and Drabu were both repeated by Ms Mufti. Karra alleged that that the high profile PDP troika were responsible for “failure” of Mufti Sayeed’s government and that they had secretly collaborated with the Centre in causing a split in the party.

END

With RSS calling shots, Kohli may have to clear out for Khajuria

BJP may replace 2 Cabinet Ministers, 2 Ministers of State in Mehbooba Govt

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

________

JAMMU, April 2: With the RSS calling shots in selection of Ministers and distribution of portfolios of the BJP quota in Mehbooba Mufti’s Government, at least four Ministers of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s Council of Ministers are likely to be replaced during formation of the new PDP-BJP coalition on Monday.

Unlike in February 2015, when BJP leaders like President Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held the charge directly, this time around the task of the Cabinet formation and distribution of portfolios has been entrusted to the party’s ideological arm RSS. Even as the senior BJP leader and union Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley has virtually replaced General Secretary and RSS organisational representative Ram Madhav in the decision making with regard to alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, Nagpur is holding key to constitution of Mehbooba’s Cabinet.

Parallel to Friday’s visible deliberations at the former Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh’s residence, and BJP’s two-day Executive meet that began on Saturday, hectic activity is underway for selection of BJP’s new team of Ministers and allocation of portfolios from Jammu to New Delhi.

According to the insiders, BJP leaders’ formal get-together at Nirmal Singh’s home on Friday evening was followed by a closed-door meeting attended by Ram Madhav, BJP’s J&K President Sat Sharma, Nirmal Singh, BJP’s J&K General Secretary and RSS organisational representative Ashok Kaul and senior RSS Pracharak Ramesh Pappa. It formulated a list of 10 would-be Cabinet Ministers. It decided to drop two of the three Ministers of State and shortlisted 5 names for the three berths in the lower tier of the Council of Ministers.

Well placed political sources revealed to STATE TIMES that the final trimming of the list was done thereafter by the three-member RSS panel comprising Ashok Kaul, RSS General Secretary Purshottam Dadeechi and Ramesh Pappa. “After clearance at various levels in New Delhi and Nagpur, the list would be forwarded to Governor Vohra in the afternoon on Sunday”, said a source.

Even as Ms Mufti is understood to have put her foot down and resisted BJP’s efforts to “balance the Cabinet proportion”---euphemism for having 9 each Ministers of PDP and BJP sides in the Cabinet---sources insist that the BJP-RSS rendezvous prepared a list of 10 names for the Cabinet. It included all the eight Cabinet Ministers of Mufti Government, including the associate member Sajjad Lone, plus senior BJP leader and MLC Ashok Khajuria and MLA Suchetgarh Sham Lal Choudhary.

“If BJP fails to get one or two additional berths in the Cabinet, (former Minister incharge Transport) Abdul Gani Kohli may have to clear out for Ashok Khajuria. This has been decided by the RSS panel. Among the MOSs, Pawan Gupta and Priya Sethi are likely to be dropped for inclusion of two new faces”, said a highly placed source. According to him, prospects of the former Irrigation Minister Sukhnandan Kumar and former Health Minister Lal Singh are only “fifty-fifty”.

In Mufti Sayeed’s Cabinet, the BJP team comprised Nirmal Singh (Deputy Chief Minister), Lal Singh, Bali Bhagat, Sukhnandan Kumar, Chander Prakash Ganga, Abdul Gani Kohli and Tsering Dorjay besides the BJP ally Sajjad Lone. With continuation of Lone, BJP is not under considerable pressure to retain its own Muslim face Kohli who was the only of its Muslim candidates returned in 2014. Charges of misuse of official position and indulgence in corruption against four former Ministers of BJP are also influencing constitution of the new team.

One of the senior leaders of BJP, Khajuria has served the party since long and he enjoys his long time RSS linkage. Sham Choudhary is also said to be the favourite of some men of consequence in BJP and RSS.

If the sources are to be believed, MLA Kishtwar Sunil Sharma is the only MOS of BJP side who will be retained. While Priya Sethi, according to sources, was being considered for an important party position, BJP could dispense with its Udhampur rebel Pawan Gupta who had contested and won the Assembly election of 2014 against the BJP’s official candidate. MLA Ram Nagar R.S. Pathania, MLA Kathua Rajiv Jasrotia, MLA Reasi Ajay Nanda and MLA Doda Shakti Parihar are being strongly supported for the two replacements of Mrs Sethi and Mr Gupta.

According to these sources, BJP side could affect a major reshuffle of its portfolios in both tiers of the Council of Ministers. This is likely to be finalised by Sunday evening.

As of new, there is no strong indication of a replacement of Minister from the PDP side, though well-placed sources insist that certain key portfolios would change.

END

[Published in today's STATE TIMES]

STATE TIMES EXCLUSIVE

Jammu Police close investigation of FIR against ‘Shiv Sena, VHP arsonists’

Judge passes strictures against SIT, refers matter of attack on minority to SHRC for enquiry and prosecution

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

_______

JAMMU, April 1: Close on the heels of disclosure in media that Police in Kishtwar district had shown some known activists of BJP-linked outfits, who were wanted in the matters of murder, as “untraced” and “absconding”, Police in Jammu district have hushed up a matter of attack on the Muslim community and claimed in a court that none of the accused activists of Shiv Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, allegedly involved in the arson, could be traced or identified. However, the  judge has passed strictures against the Police and referred the matter to Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) for enquiry, and if necessary, prosecution of the officers involved in ‘abetment’ or ‘negligence’.

On March 30, First Additional Sessions Judge Jammu, M.A. Chowdhary, accepted the closure report in case FIR No: 37 of 2013, filed by Police Station Pacca Danga, as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) claimed that none of the arsonists had been identified or traced during the course of investigation. FIR No: 37 under sections 436, 336, 147, 148, 427 and 323 of Ranbir Penal Code had been filed on August 10, 2013, when a group of people, allegedly associated with Shiv Sena and VHP, had attacked and harassed the members of the minority community in New Plot area of Jammu following the communal riots in Kishtwar.

A number of the properties belonging to the minority community had been damaged and set ablaze which resulted in registration of the FIR for the criminal offenses that involve imprisonment for life and rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years. Police constituted the SIT, comprising Inspectors Vijay Singh Chowdhary, Naresh Sharma and Daljit Singh and Sub Inspectors Jasbir Singh and Mohammad Fareed, for the investigation.

Even as the identity of the arsonists was a matter of the common public knowledge, the investigators waited for over a year for the victims to come forward and identify the men involved in the arson and attack. As none of the victims mustered courage to attract further trouble, Police conveniently closed the matter. On December 22, 2014, it approached the court with the claim that the accused could not be found and the matter had been closed as not traced. On March 30, 2016, the judge accepted the Police closure report but took exception to its failure in investigating the case.

“Inspector Vijay Singh Chowdhary of P/S Pacca Danga on 10.08.2013 from New Plot, Jammu, sent a despatch to his Police Station asserting therein that a mob of 30/40 activists of Shiv Sena and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) at about 11.00 pm caused damage by setting ablaze shops of minority community at New Plot and that nobody could be arrested as they escaped and that some Policemen had also been injured due to stone pelting. A case was registered at P/S Pacca Danga, Jammu, vide FIR No: 37/2013 for the commission of offences punishable under sections 336/147/148/427/136 RPC”, the judge recorded.

Quoting the SIT finding, the judge recorded that 8 shopkeepers, namely Mohammad Ashraf, Nazir Ahmad, Abdul Shakoor, Mohammad Farooq, Mohammad Yaqoob, Mohammad Hayat Bhat, Ghulam Hussain and Shakeel Ahmad suffered damage worth Rs 31,77,209 in the arson and attacks.

While accepting the closure report, the judge however recorded: “Before parting with the order, it is observed that the officers of the law enforcement agency have failed to discharge their duties and the human rights of the victims have been seriously violated. Police officers, having chain of command, have either abetted the violation of the human right or committed negligence in the prevention of such violence being public servants responsible to maintain law and order”.

 “Section 13 of the Jammu and Kashmir Protection of Human Rights Act 1997 provides that State Human Rights Commission shall enquire suo moto on a petition presented to it by a victim or any person on his behalf into complaint of (I) violation of human rights or abetment thereof; or (II) negligence in the prevention of such violation by a public servant”, the judge observed in his order and added: “Section 19 of the Act provides that after inquiry as contemplated in Section 13, the Commission has the authority to initiate proceedings for prosecution of violation of human rights or negligence in the prevention of violation of human rights by a public servant”.

Pulling up the State for its failure to set up the human rights courts, the judge observed: “Government of Jammu and Kashmir has not constituted any Human Rights Courts as required u/s 21 of the Act and also as directed by Hon’ble Supreme Court. Therefore, this court is left with no option except to refer the matter to the State Human Rights Commission, with a request to inquire into the matter and in case during inquiry it is disclosed that officers of the law enforcement agencies had either abetted the commission of violation of human rights of the victims or neglected in the prevention thereof, to initiate the proceedings for prosecution or such other action as the commission may deem fit against the concerned public servants”.

The judge directed that a copy of the order be sent to the Secretary SHRC at Srinagar for consideration of the Commission.

Interestingly, the SHRC itself is currently totally defunct as the PDP-BJP Government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, followed by Governor’s regime, did not appoint its Chairman and members after the retirement of the incumbent functionaries in 2015-16.

END

[Published in today's STATE TIMES]

Mehbooba holds unscheduled meeting with Governor

J&K Governor, Lok Sabha Speaker played key role in stitching PDP-BJP coalition, sources revealed to STATE TIMES

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
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SRINAGAR, March 26: Within a couple of hours of her formal meeting with Governor N.N. Vohra, Chief Minister-designate and President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti had an unscheduled meeting on Saturday evening with the Governor at Raj Bhawan in the winter capital of Jammu.

Mehbooba’s second meeting with the Governor, of which nobody in PDP and BJP had an inkling till late on Saturday night, surprised leaders of both the political parties. "We came to know of it through some journalists as no such meeting, to the best of our knowledge, was scheduled with the Governor", a senior BJP leader told STATE TIMES, even as he insisted to go anonymous.

PDP leaders too declined to say anything on record, though they maintained that nobody in the party knew about this political development.

However, at least one PDP leader insisted that it was "very much a scheduled meeting".

“It was a scheduled meeting which Mehbooba Mufti had requested for during the first meeting,” he said.

Raj Bhawan sources maintained that no such meeting had been previously sought by Ms Mufti or any other political leader. "Leaders of both, PDP and BJP, had sought just a joint meeting with Governor. That happened and ended. PDP's Tariq Hameed Karra and Muzaffar Baig besides BJP’s Nirmal Singh accompanied Ms Mufti and gave her unanimous support as Chief Minister. It initiated, progressed and ended smoothly. No other meeting of any political leader was scheduled with Governor today", said a government official posted in Raj Bhawan.

Neither a press release was issued nor anybody from media invited for a briefing.

Sources in New Delhi revealed to STATE TIMES that Governor Vohra and Speaker of Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan had actually stitched the new PDP-BJP coalition after they arranged a series of Ms Mufti's one-on-one meetings with senior BJP leaders including the union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari in the Speaker's chamber in the months of February and March. They also arranged several meetings separately between the PDP leader and former Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu and union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

These sources said there was a possibility that Ms Mufti went to Governor to express her personal gratitude to him or to sort out an issue related to BJP's purported demand of two more Cabinet berths and some key portfolios.

Governor is likely to pass vote-on-account for three months on March 28. An instalment of Dearness Allowance of 6% with effect from July 1, 2015, is likely to be announced for the State government employees in the Governor’s Vote on Account.

On April 2, Governor’s administration will remain busy with Jammu University's Annual Convocation which would be attended by Vice President Hamid Ansari. There is a strong possibility that Ms Mufti and her Council of Ministers could be sworn in any day between April 3 and 6 following which a special session of less than seven days of the Legislature would be summoned on April 8th or 9th.

Under rules, Legislature must meet within 6 months of the last day of the last session. Governor had adjourned Assembly sine die on October 10, 2015.

END

[ Published in today’s STATE TIMES ] 

BJP wants to 'balance' Cabinet, portfolios before government formation

Six-member PDP-BJP delegation scheduled to meet Governor at Raj Bhawan today

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz 

------------------- 

SRINAGAR, March 25: Even as BJP is still attempting to claim two more Cabinet berths and share in some key portfolios like Home and Planning to "balance the Council of Ministers", a six-member delegation of the PDP-BJP alliance is scheduled to meet Governor Narendra Nath Vohra to stake claim for the government formation in Jammu and Kashmir at Raj Bhawan on Saturday.

Authoritative sources said both, PDP as well as BJP, were seeking an appointment with the Governor on Saturday. According to these sources, PDP's President and Chief Ministerial nominee Mehbooba Mufti and Lok Sabha members Muzaffar Hussain Baig and Tariq Hameed Karra, bedides BJP's State President Satpal Sharma and deputy Chief Minister-designate Dr Nirmal Singh, would meet Governor at 1530 hours and formally stake their claim jointly to form the new government.

After receiving both the parties' letters of support in favour of the PDP President, Governor would formally invite Mehbooba Mufti to take oath of office and secrecy, most probably before or after the Vice President’s April 2nd visit to Jammu. Hamid Ansari is scheduled to attend the annual convocation of the University of Jammu. Before his visit, Governor is likely to pass vote-on-account on March 28. The regular annual budget for the financial year 2016-17 would be subsequently presented and passed by the representative government in a session of the State legislature.

Ms Mufti, alongwith Baig and Karra, was actually scheduled to meet Governor in the evening on Friday. BJP was separately scheduled to meet Mr Vohra after formally electing Dr Nirmal Singh as Leader of Legislature Party and endorsing the party high command's decision to support PDP and Ms Mufti as Chief Minister. However, both the parties conveyed to Raj Bhawan that they wanted to meet him jointly after holding some meetings.

"As per the Governor’s letters of 22nd March 2016 to President, JK PDP and State President BJP, they were scheduled to have separate meetings with him at Raj Bhavan, Jammu, today afternoon. Raj Bhavan was approached by PDP today afternoon to ascertain whether the PDP and BJP leaders could meet the Governor together today evening. This was agreed to", Raj Bhawan spokesperson said in a press release.

"The Spokesman disclosed that PDP and BJP leaders had later informed Raj Bhavan that talks were ongoing at Jammu between the leaders of their parties and they would make a fresh request for meeting the Governor when they had concluded their discussions", it added.

Sources said that BJP's scheduled meeting at the Guest House on Canal Road elected Nirmal Singh as the party’s leader in Assembly and thus nominee for the post of Deputy Chief Minister. It also decided to support Ms Mufti as the Chief Minister. However the much speculated joint meeting between the two parties did not happen till late on Friday night. Lok Sabha member from Udhampur-Kathua and Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh and BJP's national General Secretary Ram Madhav attended the BJP meeting. 

Sources said that both the Central leaders returned to New Delhi by a chartered aeroplane in the evening. 

Well-placed political sources disclosed to STATE TIMES that an influential section of the BJP leadership emphasised on Friday that before becoming a partner in the coalition government with PDP, BJP must seek "balancing of the Cabint and the portfolios". 

"In the 25-member Council of Ministers led by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, BJP had only 7 Cabinet Ministers, including our associate member SajjadLone. On the other hand, PDP had 11 Cabinet Ministers. Besides, BJP had four Ministers of State (including associate member Pawan Gupta) and PDP three. Currently both BJP and PDP have 28 MLAs each. So we have a genuine demand that both the parties must have 9 each Cabinet Ministers and 3 each Ministers of State", said a senior BJP leader who claimed that nobody in his party was authorised to speak to the Press. He disclosed that BJP was also seeking its MOSs in Home and Planning portfolios retained by PDP in Mufti’s regime.

"If we have agreed on the principle of equal distribution of everything, there should be no problem with our coalition partner in balacing the proportion in the Cabinet and rationalisation of portfolios", the BJP stalwart asserted.

However, all the PDP leaders who spoke to STATE TIMES on the condition of anonymity, did invariably rule out the possibility of conceding any berths or portfolios to the BJP. 

END

[ Published in today’s STATE TIMES ] 

Mehbooba is PDP's Chief Ministerial nominee

Legislature Party meeting avoids reference to 'CBMs', timeframe for implementation of Agenda of Alliance 

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz 

---------------

SRINAGAR, March 24: In a dramatic volte face from its eleven-week-long stand on extension of the coalition with BJP, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday not only decided to form government with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party but also elected its President Mehbooba Mufti as the Legislature Party leader and the Chief Ministerial nominee in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the political sources privy to the developments, PDP's Legislature Party, which met at Ms Mufti’s Gupkar Road residence late in the afternoon, took just a few minutes to unanimously elect her as the Chief Ministerial nominee. While as the party's ebullient leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig conducted the proceedings, another senior leader Tariq Hameed Karra, who had issued dozens of statements against continuation of the alliance with PDP, came out with unqualified support to the proposal of forming the government with BJP. He and all other participants favoured Ms Mufti as the Chief Minister.

Mehbooba’s name was proposed by MLA Bijbehara and former Horticulture Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri. It was seconded by MLA Amirakadal and former Minister of Works Altaf Bukhari.

All the 27 PDP MLAs, associate member and MLA Zanskar Syed Bakar Rizvi, Lok Sabha members Muzaffar Hussain Baig and Tariq Hameed Karra, Rajya Sabha members Nazir Ahmad Laway and Fayaz Ahmad Mir, Chairman Legislative Council Haji Anayat Ali, besides all the PDP MLCs attended the meeting which was presided over by Mehbooba Mufti.

Senior PDP leader and former Education Minister Naeem Akhtar said: “Following the nomination of Mehbooba Mufti as the PDP Legislature Party leader and the chief ministerial candidate, further constitutional requirement and the process for the government formation would be taken to the logical conclusion in consultation and coordination with the coalition partner BJP".

Akhtar said Ms Mufti thanked the party leaders and legislators and urged them to rededicate themselves to accomplish the mission and vision of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. She also reiterated her resolve to work towards implementation of the ‘Agenda of Alliance’ formulated with BJP. He said that Ms Mufti has been invited by Governor N.N. Vohra for a meeting at Raj Bhawan on Friday.

Sources present in the meeting told STATE TIMES that Ms Mufti assured the participants that formation of the government with BJP would be in the interest of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. She even made it clear that her Ministers would be accountable to the party cadres and the people in general and they would have to cease to be the "constituency leaders". She made it clear that there would be no room in her Council of Ministers for the non-performers.

Sources said that Ms Mufti did not explain as to what specific assurances she had obtained from BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for implementation of the commitments made to the PDP in last year's Agenda of Alliance. Nobody in fact asked her what made her change over two-month-long stand as she had firmly ruled out formation of the government with BJP in absence of Kashmir-specific CBMs and a timeframe for implementation of different items figuring in the Agenda of Alliance.

END

[ Published in today’s STATE TIMES ] 

In Governor’s rule, Chairman of anti-graft body wants Rs 32 lakh Toyota Camry 

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz 

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SRINAGAR, March 16: Believe it or not, highly placed authoritative sources insist that the Chairman of an autonomous commission, responsible to eradicate corruption in top echelons of the establishment in Jammu and Kashmir, has been adamant, surprisingly in Governor’s rule, that the State government should purchase for his official use a Toyota Camry priced at Rs 32 lakh. While as the petrol model of the super luxury saloon in India costs Rs 29 lakh, its 2015 diesel variant stands priced at Rs 32 lakh.

Sources revealed to STATE TIMES that State Motor Garage (SMG) has, strictly in accordance with Chairman’s desire, which does not even remotely match with his entitlement under rules, placed an order with an Indian dealer for a Rs 32 lakh saloon. The vehicle is expected to be delivered to the head of the anti-graft body before March 31, 2016.

Government’s Financial Code, prescribed for different classifications of public servants, makes it clear which kind of vehicles can be purchased and used by the incumbents. Sources insist that even the cost of the official vehicles used by heads and members of other commissions and boards, Advisors to Governor, Chief Secretary, Financial Commissioners, Principal Secretaries, Chief Justice and other judges of J&K High Court, Heads of Departments and Managing Directors and Chairpersons of Corporations is restricted to a limit between Rs 5 lakh to 15 lakh.

Interestingly, even an Advisor to Governor, who is usually seen travelling in a single car, was spotted last fortnight driving all alone his private car to Indira theatre in Jammu. He parked his car and went in to watch a Bollywood film like an ordinary common man.

“If the members and heads of the commissions created for fighting corruption and making politicians and bureaucrats accountable, assume this kind of a super luxurious lifestyle, how can they deliver?”, asked a top government functionary. “Who will take cognizance of this loot of State exchequer and who will do justice to the ordinary taxpayer?”

END

[Published in State Times March 17, 2016]