JammuJul 8, 2025 09:00 IST
First published on: Jul 8, 2025 at 09:00 IST
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Barely a few weeks after Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha claimed his limited administrative authority, J&K Deputy Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) leader Surinder Choudhary on Sunday raked up the issue of dual power centres in the Union Territory (UT), saying the elected government was “not able to do enough for the people”.
Asking Sinha why he was not returning the file relating to the Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) that would define the respective powers of the L-G and the elected government, Choudhary said, “We are pained that we are not able to provide jobs to our youth even eight months after assuming power.”
Choudhary was flagging off a bus from Jammu to the remote Daddal Kalasara village via Sunderbani in the border Rajouri district.
He said the Omar Abdullah-led J&K government, like other elected governments of the country, wanted to take “big decisions” for the welfare of the youth and the elderly but was unable to do it due to “dual power centres”.
The Deputy CM’s bid to reiterate such remarks assumes political significance as he has been seen taking a more vocal stand on the issue as compared to Abdullah, who has been emphasising on “cooperating” with the L-G for people’s welfare since taking charge last October.
After having emerged as a giant killer in the 2024 J&K Assembly polls, when he defeated then state BJP chief Ravinder Rana, Choudhary’s vociferous stance on issues like statehood, power distribution, and restoration of special status are aimed to claim that the people of Jammu, like their Kashmiri counterparts, are not happy with the Centre’s move on August 5, 2019, when it abrogated Article 370 and downgraded J&K state to a UT.
Sources said Choudhary’s position is meant to help the NC keep its vote base intact in Kashmir as well parts of Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley in Jammu while steering the party to take on the BJP in the latter’s bastions of Jammu, Samba and Kathua.
The Deputy CM has raised these issues in the Assembly too. Amid protests by the BJP MLAs, it was Choudhary who moved a resolution in the House urging the Centre to hold dialogues with the elected representatives of J&K over restoration of Article 370.
After the NC-led government recently alleged that the L-G’s move to transfer 48 officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (JKAS) violated the provisions of the J&K Reorganisation Act, it was from Choudhary’s home in April that the ruling MLAs “warned Delhi for the last time” against interference.
On Sunday, reminding Sinha of his recent statement that only “the police came under him”, Choudhary also urged the J&K BJP leaders to take up the issue with the L-G.
However, the BJP claimed that the powers of the L-G as well as the elected government were “clearly defined” in the J&K Reorganisation Act. “The issue concerns the L-G and the government. Both should take care of their respective domains and sort out any confusion instead of making the people suffer,” BJP vice-president and Jammu North MLA Sham Lal Sharma said.
On June 14, in an apparent bid to put the controversy over the existence of “two power centres in the UT” to rest, Sinha had said that only the police came under him while the rest of the administrative departments fell under the purview of the elected government. He subsequently echoed this while responding to state Education and Health Minister Sakina Itoo’s criticism.