Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir are holding a joint meeting in August over the recent amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019 which vests executive powers to the Lieutenant Governor of the union territory.
"Leaders of opposition parties are scheduled to meet on August 7 at 10:00 am at Hotel Raddison, Narwal Jammu to discuss the issue of amendments to Transaction of Business of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Rules 2019," CPI (M) leader M Y Tarigami told ETV Bharat.
Tarigami said that all the leaders of opposition parties have been requested to attend this meeting. The parties include National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Congress and other regional parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on July 12 extended the administrative powers to Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir by amending the Transaction of Business Rules. The amendment was carried out by the president of India.
According to the new rules, the LG will have the final authority on the functioning of the All India Services that includes the senior bureaucracy of the Union Territory. The new rules have also placed the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Prisons, and the Jammu and Kashmir Forensic Science Laboratory under the LG’s control. The LG will also have the final approval over the appointment of the Advocate General and other law officers.
This amendment carried under Section 55 of the JK Reorganization Act 2019 was vehemently opposed by the regional opposition parties.
