Governor tries to reassert self on J&K issues

Asks state chief secretary to send him all files on sensitive matters about Kashmir.

Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik is neither happy with the Srinagar-Jammu highway ban nor was he in the loop when state chief secretary decided to withdraw security of hundreds of vulnerable persons in the state.

In a recent high-level meeting, Malik warned local bureaucrats that no government is going to take over, indicating that there would be no immediate state Assembly elections. National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah was reportedly informed by some of the bureaucrats about the meeting and he tweeted that the Governor was not interested in Assembly elections in the state and was either incompetent or busy in implementing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) agenda in Jammu & Kashmir.

Official sources said that the Governor has asked the state chief secretary to route all files to Raj Bhawan before taking decision on any sensitive matter regarding Kashmir. Malik was informed by top police officials that they had not recommended withdrawing of security to vulnerable people and the chief secretary had taken the decisio006E on his own. Normally, the Security Review Coordination Committee (SRCC) used to assess the threat perception of protectees and decide whether to continue with the security cover or not. Now, the Raj Bhawan has decided that the final decision on this matter would be taken by the Governor through the chief secretary.

The latest government order after the intervention of the Governor said that the SRCC will consult Jammu & Kashmir DGP and place views, if any, along with the recommendations of the SRCC before the Governor through chief secretary, B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, for approval. The Governor has also changed the nomenclature of the SRCC; now, the intelligence chief will not head it and would be the member of the committee. The latest order of the government will be very crucial for all security related issues in Kashmir Valley.