Farooq Abdullah accuses L-G of sitting on govt files

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Monday accused Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha of “sitting on government files and obstructing the implementation of business rules.”

Abdullah also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest.

Speaking to reporters in Jammu, Abdullah said, “He is sitting on the files. How many times will I tell him? Scores of files are with him, and they are not moving. I once told him that he had demoted the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). He said, ‘No, no, it has got its autonomy.’ It was a complete lie.”

The NC president said the current government in J&K was elected by the people and therefore deserved full administrative cooperation. “The rules must be fully implemented,” he asserted.

Responding to a question about the ongoing exchanges between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Lieutenant Governor, Farooq said, “I hope those who are sitting on the files will send them back. Business rules must be implemented, shouldn’t they?”

Asked whether the L-G was preventing the elected government from performing its duties, Abdullah said it was not a matter of direct obstruction but of bureaucratic interference.

“It’s not that he’s stopping work; it’s the way he’s dealing with things. He delays decisions—that’s what he does. He must stop doing it. He should be a friend of the people and the government. That’s what he is sitting there for,” he said.

On the issue of statehood restoration, Abdullah appealed to the Prime Minister to pay attention to the problems facing J&K. “We request him to pay special attention to the matter of statehood and ensure it is restored as soon as possible,” he said.