Mehbooba Mufti Criticizes New Rules for Jammu and Kashmir

New Delhi, India, July 13: PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has criticized the central government's decision to amend the rules of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019. She stated that the government has taken away the powers of the local assembly, making life in the Valley "hell."

In a video, Mufti said, "Today you have brought such an ordinance by which you have snatched everything from the most powerful assembly of Jammu and Kashmir in the entire country. Today, you want to convert it into a municipality. If any government is formed in J&K tomorrow, it will not be formed by BJP at all, then that government will not have any authority, will not be able to transfer any of its employees, against whom to take action, you want to snatch that right from them and give it to the Chief Secretary and LG. That LG who comes from outside, who does not know anything about this place."

She added, "If you do not trust the people here, then why have you kept them here? You people have made our lives here in this Kashmir hell."

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also criticized the move, saying it would render the new Chief Minister "powerless" and suggested that elections are imminent. He posted on X, "Another indicator that elections are around the corner in J-K. This is why a firm commitment to laying out the timeline for the restoration of full, undiluted statehood for J-K is a prerequisite for these elections. The people of J-K deserve better than a powerless, rubber stamp CM who will have to beg the LG to get his/her peon appointed."

President Droupadi Murmu has approved the amendments, which took effect on July 12, 2023. Government sources clarified that the amendments are merely clarificatory and based on existing provisions of the State Reorganization Act of 2019.