After rejig, NC & Cong urge LG Sinha to respect public mandate

Controversial reshuffle of 48 bureaucrats three days ago is the latest flashpoint between Raj Bhavan and Omar Abdullah govt

- Mir Ehsan

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah chaired a meeting of legislators of the ruling National Conference (NC) and its alliance partners in Srinagar on Friday and condemned the passage of the Waqf bill in Parliament, terming it against Muslims and minorities, besides asking the lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha-led administration and the Centre to "respect people's mandate".

Addressing mediapersons after the hour-long emergency meeting that was convened amid growing disquiet between Raj Bhavan and the six-month-old government in the Union Territory, NC legislator and spokesman Tanvir Sadiq, accompanied by Congress MLA Nazimuddin Bhat, said that two resolutions were passed. "The ruling alliance partners strongly condemn the passage of the Waqf bill in Parliament. This bill is against Muslims and minorities of the country. The second resolution is that people's participation in elections should be respected. And those who don't respect the mandate are insulting the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Through this resolution, we want to convey to the Government of India that respecting people's mandate is mandatory," Sadiq said. The meeting of alliance partners came in the backdrop of lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha ordering the transfer of 48 officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS).

The controversial reshuffle of 48 bureaucrats three days ago led to the latest flashpoint between the Raj Bhavan and the Abdullah government over the legal and administrative framework under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act.