JKNPP chairman and former minister, Harsh Dev Singh said has lamented that the State of J&K has been reduced to a glorified municipality now with a lame CM’s post and Lt Governor to take over. Observing that democracy in J&K would now get debilitated and weakened upon its transition to UT, Harsh Dev said that the elected representatives in the new systems would lose most of the powers which were conferred upon them as regular members of State legislature. “While the new arrangement in the UT would witness disempowerment of the MLAs and Ministers to a great extent, the Union Government and its nominated functionaries would have an enhanced role in the affairs of the new set up. Not only the role of political executive in the affairs of State would get diminished in the new UT, but the legislative powers of the legislators would also be prejudicially affected,” said Singh while addressing a press conference in Jammu. He said making the political executive subservient to bureaucracy was most likely to prove counterproductive besides adversely impacting the administrative functioning in a political system. It is an anti theses to the very spirit of democracy, he added. Singh said while abrogation of Art 370 and allied provisions could make some sense, the downgrading of a 200 year old Dogra state was an absurd act of histrionics which could not be justified by any stretch of imagination. He said that such move had not only lowered the morale of the people of Jammu region but caused huge disenchantment in their hearts and minds. Seeking a separate State for Jammu region, Singh cautioned the Union Government to stop taking the people of the region for granted. “Statehood for Jammu only can satiate the urges and aspirations of the people. Give our State back to us”, Harsh Dev asserted.
