A breach of privilege motion has been moved against Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Duloo and Law Secretary Achal Sethi for allegedly trying to scuttle the resolution for the restoration of statehood in the Assembly.
The resolution was moved by J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday and passed in the Assembly on Monday. The privilege motion was moved by MLA Waheed ur Rehman Parra after members from different parties raised serious concerns over bureaucratic overreach. “I don’t think there is any such precedent when bureaucrats have written to the Assembly secretariat in an attempt to scuttle the business of the house.
Abdul Rahim Rather, Speaker of the J&K Assembly told NDTV that there is no precedent of such interference in the functioning of the Assembly by the bureaucracy. He said that sending a letter to the Assembly secretariat, that too without the approval of the minister concerned was a clear attempt to undermine the House. The letter has been sent without the approval of the concerned minister,” said Rather.
“Speaker sir, I’m the Law Minister and Chief Minister but I have no knowledge of my bureaucracy sending an opinion to you on my resolution. “It is unthinkable that bureaucracy would send such a letter to the assembly secretariat in any other part of the country. Can this happen in any other State, where the Chief Minister moves a resolution and the State’s own bureaucracy acts against it? Sajad Lone, MLA and president of the Peoples Conference dared the government and the speaker to act against the Chief Secretary for undermining the house.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the portfolio of Law Ministry, told the Assembly that he had no knowledge of the letter sent by his Law Secretary and Chief Secretary before he was informed by the Speaker. He said that writing such a letter to the Assembly Secretariat, asking it not to allow the resolution moved by the Chief Minister himself speaks volumes about how bureaucracy is functioning outside the control of elected government. I do not know on whose instructions it was sent,” said Abdullah. Abdullah said after J&K was stripped of its statehood and special status, people in J&K have been “humiliated”. He said demanding restoration of statehood is a matter of right, not asking for a charity from the central government. This can happen only in a Union Territory,” Abdullah said.
