Making IIOJK Lt Governor all-powerful continues to draw condemnation
Srinagar: Condemnation of making the Lieutenant Governor of occupied Jammu and Kashmir all-powerful by the Narendra Modi-led Indian government continues to pour in, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) leader, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, being the latest to join the chorus.
According to Kashmir Media Service, talking to media persons in Srinagar, Tarigami termed the Indian government’s amendments to the so-called Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, delegating almost all powers to the Lt. Governor, as yet another assault on the already diminished rights of Kashmiris.
“The Lt. Governor is not an elected representative, but he has been empowered by the directive issued by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, which we believe is another assault on the constitutional rights of the people of IIOJK,” he said.
He said that the amendments had further enhanced the powers of the Lt. Governor while disempowering the elected assembly. “These amendments will significantly undermine the powers of an elected government, and the new cabinet will have limited powers. It will now be within the jurisdiction of the LG to even transfer an officer,” said Tarigami.
He said that this amendment to the so-called Reorganisation Act amounts to the repeated betrayal of the promises made by the BJP government regarding the restoration of full statehood to IIOJK.
Demanding the immediate revocation of the Indian government’s move, the CPI-M leader has called on all sections of the population and political parties to unite and raise their voices against this draconian order.
