Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, Apr 5: Senior National Conference leader and former minister, Ajay Sadhotra, today expressed deep concern over the ongoing dual governance in Jammu and Kashmir, terming it as detrimental to public interest and a blatant disregard for the popular mandate given by the people during the Assembly elections.
Addressing a public meeting at Jindrah in Nagrota Assembly constituency, which was organized by Ram Parshotam Sharma, Block president Dansal Sara Din and Ex-Sarpanch Onkar Singh, Sadhotra emphasized that democracy is fundamentally a system of governance of the people, by the people, and for the people, saying any deviation from this principle, especially in a region as politically sensitive and strategically significant as Jammu and Kashmir, is bound to create alienation, confusion, and administrative inertia.
“The will of the people must not be undermined. Governance must reflect the aspirations and sentiments of the people, not override them,” he asserted.
NC leader lamented that the concept of dual governance where the elected representatives are ignored and discretionary powers are centralized, leads to authoritarian tendencies that go against the very ethos of democratic functioning.
Sadhotra said that the business rules formulated and recommended by a democratically elected Government have been ignored or put on the back burner, while actions that serve bureaucratic or political expediency are being fast-tracked regardless of their merit or impact on public welfare.
Highlighting the impact of the current dual arrangement, Sadhotra cautioned that when the control of the elected Government over the administration is curtailed or restrained, it mutes the very purpose of having public representatives. “In such a scenario, accountability becomes the first casualty and governance drifts into directionless, ” he said.
Calling for immediate course correction, Sadhotra called for restraining the primacy of elected institutions and empower them to function in line with the constitutional framework and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act.
Others who were present on the occasion included- Mohd Ayub Malik Provincial secretary, Joginder Singh Member DDC, Shamin Begum Member DDC, Raghubir Singh Manhas District president, Chander Mohan Sharma District president, Ch Rehmat Ali Ex-BDC Chairman, Thoru Ram Sharma Block president, Devinder Singh Block president Mathwar, Ashok Singh Ex-Sarpanch, Mohan Lal Verma Ex-Sarpanch, Master Mohd Aslam, Vishawjeet Singh, Randhir Singh, Inderpal Singh, Swaran Singh Manhas, Ashwani Charak, Gurnam Singh, Vishwajeet Singh, Sharda Devi, Aisha Bhan, Anju Grover, Anju Mehra, Shallu, Priyanka, Aman Singh Manhas and Ajay Singh.
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