Will not allow use of J&K water for Punjab
Srinagar, Jun 20: Slamming former Chief Mehbooba Mufti and Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone over their earlier “stances” on the issue of reservation, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said the cabinet would discuss the cabinet sub-committee (CSC) report on rationalization of quota after it is vetted by the Law Department.
Addressing a news conference in Jammu, the CM said that the report would be discussed by the cabinet after its examination by the Law department. “Law department has to examine it. You cannot hijack it. It is a legal document. It needs examination of the Law department,” Omar said.
“If my intention was to buy time, I would have granted a six-month extension to the sub-committee. Do you possess any mechanism to compel me to finalize the report within six months? How many committees have finalized their report within six months? ” Omar asked.
Omar lashed out at Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti over her stance on the issue of reservation, saying that she made a compromise over it in lieu of votes.
“With what face does the PDP speak about the issue of reservation? When Mehbooba Mufti needed votes, she imposed a ban on her party leaders from speaking on it. Should I show you records of her tweets from her official X handle, where she stated that ‘nobody is authorized to speak on the issue of reservation’?” Omar asked.
Omar said that Mehbooba Mufti made a compromise on the issue of reservation in lieu of votes. “Mehbooba Mufti was then fighting elections from Anantnag- Rajouri seat and in pursuit of getting votes from Rajouri and Poonch, she preferred silence over the matter. She not only remained silent but also made a compromise over the issue in lieu of votes, “he said.
The CM also came down heavily on Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone over his latest utterances on the issue of reservation, saying that he preferred silence when reservation rules were changed.
“What can I say about Sajad Lone? He was closely aligned to the government when all this happened. Our security was withdrawn and we were evicted from government houses. He was living in a government house. Why did he remain silent on the issue ?” Omar asked.
Omar said that he would not permit the use of water from the three western rivers of the Indus system in Jammu & Kashmir for Punjab.
“I will never permit this. Let us use our water for ourselves first. There is a drought-like situation in Jammu—why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already has water under the Indus Water Treaty. Did they provide us with water when we needed it?” the CM said, when asked about the proposed 113 km-long canal aimed at redirecting surplus water from the three western rivers of the Indus system in J&K to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
The CM said that he is hopeful that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will stand by his commitments on the restoration of J&K’s statehood.
I never claimed LG has all powers: CM
‘He should sign, return business rules document accepted by Cabinet to end confusion’
Srinagar, Jun 20: Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Friday said that he has never claimed that Lieutenant Governor has all the powers.
Talking to the reporters, the Chief Minister said, “I have never said that LG has all the powers. The Lt Governor has himself stated that his responsibilities are limited to security and law & order. This is why I am saying that the business rules accepted by the cabinet should be signed by the LG and returned to end the confusion over power distribution.”
“We have been saying that the Lt Governor has only one responsibility i.e. to secure the people of J&K, rest is our responsibility,” he said.
Pertinently on June 14, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had drawn a clear distinction regarding his administrative powers, stating that only the Police Department falls under his direct control, while other crucial sectors like roads, water, power, and agriculture will be the domain of the elected government.
Furthermore, the Chief Minister said that the people stuck in Iran were being evacuated gradually. “We cannot evacuate them in a single night. No port or airport is open in Iran at present. We have been shifting the stuck people to safer places and then evacuating them back to home,” he said, adding that more 400 students, mostly from J&K are returning home today as well.
He added that there was no reason to bombarding Iran at a time when the American intelligence head has recently claimed that Iran is nowhere close to build nuclear, but Israel has attacked Iran, which needs to be stopped and all the issues be resolved through dialogue.
