Omar govt reconstitutes Khadi Board, replaces BJP’s Hina Bhat as chairperson

The National Conference-led government in Jammu and Kashmir has removed senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Hina Bhat from her position as chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Khadi and Village Industries Board.

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Jammu and Kashmir’s Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary has replaced Bhat as the new chairperson, according to an order issued by the General Administration Department of Jammu and Kashmir late on Monday night.

The reconstitution of the board of directors of the Jammu and Kashmir Khadi and Village Industries Board is part of a larger reorganisation that includes six other such organisations. These reconstituted boards and corporations include Jammu and Kashmir Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation, Jammu and Kashmir Khadi and Village Industries Board, Jammu and Kashmir Cements Limited, Jammu and Kashmir Industries Limited, Jammu and Kashmir Small Scale Industrial Development Corporation Limited, and Jammu and Kashmir State Industrial Development Corporation.

Hina Bhat, an influential BJP leader, was appointed chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Khadi and Village Industries Board in January last year under the Lieutenant Governor administration. The board is tasked with “encouraging, organising, developing, and regulating Khadi and Village Industries in Jammu and Kashmir.” Bhat had previously contested the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, though she was not successful.

Bhat was one of two BJP leaders appointed to chair positions of various boards during the L-G administration. The other was Darakshan Andrabi, who was appointed chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board in 2022, which oversees Muslim shrines, mosques, and educational institutions in the union territory. The Waqf Board, originally known as the Muslim Auqaf Trust, was established by National Conference founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah and has historically been central to the party’s control over religious shrines in the region.

The ruling government has not yet made any changes to the Waqf Board.

Shortly after taking power, an office memorandum sent to all administrative secretaries stated that CM Omar Abdullah had directed an examination of the “Constitution and composition of the Boards, Authorities, Corporations, PSUs, Societies, etc.,” and that necessary amendments should be made following the formation of the new government.