Srinagar, Apr 3: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will chair the National Conference (NC) legislative party and allies meeting in Srinagar on Friday.
The meeting is being held in the wake of transfers of 48 Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officers by the LG’s administration, sources said.
The Congress on Thursday criticised Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s decision to order the transfer of middle and lower-rung officers in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the latter should have awaited the approval of business rules before announcing his decision.
In a move seen by many as an attempt to take full control of the bureaucracy, the LG ordered the transfer of 48 middle and lower-rung JKAS officers, including 14 Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADCs) and 26 Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs).
The order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) on Tuesday came at a time when the NC-led government was waiting for a nod from the Union Home Ministry for the business rules it framed about a month ago and sent to the LG for approval to facilitate smooth governance without confusion.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has convened a joint meeting of the coalition legislators in Srinagar on Friday where the issue is likely to be discussed.
“The CM has called for a joint legislative party meeting of coalition partners in Srinagar at 11 am on Friday. The issue of transfers is likely to be discussed although the agenda for the meeting has not been conveyed so far. It would have been advisable for the LG to wait a while as the business rules are pending approval. The LG should have been more patient,” Congress national general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir said.
Mir, who also serves as the leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) in the J&K Assembly, said the government has already proposed the business rules and forwarded them to New Delhi for approval.
“Taking such a step was not advisable,” the Congress leader said.
He said that according to the current business rules, the transfer of local JKAS officers falls under the CM’s domain.
“The previous rules stipulated that local JKAS officers will be handled by the CM while senior officers (IAS) will be transferred by the LG,” Mir said.
He said that the LG’s action, knowing that the business rules proposal was pending approval in Delhi, sent a wrong message about the state of affairs within the J&K administration.
“It has sent the wrong message that everything is not well (within the administration). The LG knew it well that the proposal for business rules was under consideration, yet he took this step,” Mir said.
