*4 Ministers meet Mehbooba to persuade her
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 9: For the first time since two ideologically different political parties, PDP and BJP took over reign of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, differences surfaced between the two coalition partners with BJP Ministers opposing posting of KPS officers as DIGs and above, a proposal mooted by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who holds charge of the Home Department, in today’s Cabinet meeting.
Following opposition to her proposal, Mehbooba left the meeting angrily but later four senior Ministers including Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, Forests Minister Choudhary Lal Singh (both BJP), Works Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri and Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu (both PDP) met the Chief Minister at her residence to persuade her.
Insiders told the Excelsior that as soon as the agenda item pertaining to cadre rationalization of Kashmir Police Services (KPS) officers was taken up in the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Mehbooba Mufti at the Civil Secretariat, the BJP Ministers unanimously opposed the move to appoint KPS officers as DIGs or even IGPs saying there was no such procedure in any State of the country and only IPS officers or local police officers (KPS in J&K) inducted into the IPS can be posted on the posts of DIGs and above.
“There is no such practice in the country where the posts of DIGs or IGs are held by the non-IPS officers. This move, if approved in the Cabinet, will set a wrong precedent,’’ the BJP Ministers were reported to have said while opposing the move initiated by the Home Department, which is held by the Chief Minister herself.
The Chief Minister strongly defended her proposal reportedly saying if there was no such practice in the country that doesn’t mean that it can’t be started in Jammu and Kashmir.
Proposing that all monetary benefits including grades can be released in favour of the KPS officers, the BJP Ministers, however, outrightly opposed their posting on higher posts like DIGs and IGs unless they were inducted into the IPS. The BJP Ministers proposed that only IPS officers, whether Direct Recruits or those inducted into the IPS, should be posted on the posts of DIGs and above.
The BJP Ministers cited that this was the practice all across the country where only IPS or local cadre officers inducted into the IPS, hold the posts of DIGs and IGs.
Sources said the open BJP opposition to her proposal irked the Chief Minister, who left the Cabinet meeting in a huff and straightway drove to her official residence at Residency Road.
This left the BJP-PDP Ministers stunned as they were not expecting such an angry reaction from the Chief Minister. All BJP Ministers then met in the office of Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh. Later, the BJP and PDP Ministers unanimously decided that four of them would go to the residence of Mehbooba Mufti and persuade her.
Dr Nirmal Singh, Lal Singh, Abdul Rehman Veeri and Dr Haseeb Drabu visited the residence of Mehbooba Mufti and held detailed inter-action with her. The BJP Ministers explained their stand saying their opposition was based on substance and the practice followed by all States in the country including Jammu and Kashmir.
The KPS officers had repeatedly been pleading their cause on the ground that both KAS and KPS officers qualify the same exam but the KPS officers lagged behind from KAS in grades and promotions. While the KAS officers reach up to the rank of Secretary, the KPS officers get only one or two grades and if they are not inducted into the IPS, they retire as SSPs.
Sources pointed out that there was not total unanimity among the PDP-BJP coalition partners over some issues in conduct of Panchayat elections. While PDP members were of the view that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) can be designated as the State Election Officer for conduct of Panchayat elections, some of the BJP Ministers proposed that the separate Election Commission should be set up as per the Panchayati Raj Act for conduct of the elections.
As per the Panchayati Raj Act, there has to be separate Election Commission for conduct of Panchayat elections in the State.
The BJP members proposed that delimitation of the Panch constituencies should be done by the Election Commission and not the Government.
The BJP Ministers, however, fully supported the conduct of Panchayat elections next year under which election will be held only for Panch segments while Sarpanches will be elected by the Panchs.
The PDP and BJP Ministers were unanimous that there will be no direct election of Sarpanches.
This is for the first time that open differences have surfaced between PDP and BJP on some issues in the Cabinet meeting, which prompted the Chief Minister to leave the meeting in the middle without completing the Cabinet.
The relations between the two coalition partners had otherwise been very smooth both during the tenure of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and now Mehbooba Mufti.
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