‘Cabinet accepted Reservation report, Legal examination must’
Won’t give permission for diverting Jammu’s water to other States
JAMMU, June 21:
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said Lieutenant Governor (Manoj Sinha) should sign the Business Rules approved by the Cabinet and return to the Government so that there is no confusion as the LG’s responsibility is to secure people while rest of powers are with the Government.
He said the Cabinet has accepted recommendations of the Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) on Reservation and since it is a legal document it has been sent to the Law Department for examination and took PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and People’s Conference (PC) chairman Sajjad Ghani Lone to task for alleging delay on the issue of reservation saying Mehbooba had restricted her party leaders from speaking on the subject when she was contesting Lok Sabha election from Anantnag-Rajouri-Poonch seat for sake of the votes while Sajjad was close to the power during five years and did nothing on the issue.
Omar made it clear that no permission will be given by his Government for any proposal to build a canal to divert surplus water to Punjab and other States saying Jammu and Kashmir should be allowed to use its waters. He was reacting to reported proposal by the Centre to construct 113 kilometers long canal to divert water to different States to prevent it from flowing to Pakistan after the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) was kept in abeyance by India following April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
“I never said all powers are vested with the Lieutenant Governor. You can go through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act. The LG has himself stated that his responsibility is security and law and order,” Omar said, adding that’s why he has been saying that the Business Rules should be issued immediately.
He said the Lieutenant Governor should sign the Business Rules and send them back to the Government so that there is no confusion in working of the Government. “The LG’s responsibility is to secure people. Rest of responsibilities are ours,” he added.
The Cabinet headed by Omar had approved the Business Rules on March 5, 2025 and sent them to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for approval nearly four and half months after formation of the Government, which was first after J&K became a Union Territory.
Later, the LG returned the Business Rules raising certain queries. On May 5, 2025, the Cabinet responded to the queries and sent back the Rules again to the Raj Bhawan for approval.
Earlier in the day, Omar, while interacting with media after inaugurating an outreach office-Raabta here to ensure efficient grievance redressal and informed decision-making through data-driven monitoring and strategic communication, said the Cabinet has accepted recommendations of the Cabinet Sub Committee (CSC) on Reservation and since it is a legal document, it has been forwarded to Law Department for examination.
Rejecting PDP and People’s Conference charges of delay on the matter, the Chief Minister said if they had such intentions they would have given another six months time to CSC.
“Hardly any Committee submits its report in time. Extentions after Extensions are given to the Panels. But the CSC on Reservation completed its task within the period of six months,” he said, adding when the Law Department gives its comments, the Cabinet will discuss it again.
Omar said Mehbooba Mufti and Sajjad Lone failed to raise the issue of reservation in recruitment when they had the opportunity.
“Mehbooba Mufti had banned her party leaders from talking about it during previous elections when she needed votes. For votes, she strictly banned her party members from even talking about reservation… When contesting elections from Anantnag and needing votes from Rajouri and Poonch, why did she not talk about reservation then? I can show here tweets imposing restrictions on party leaders from speaking on reservation. Sajjad Lone was close to the Government for five years when all this was happening,” he said.
The CM said he and others were evicted from their Government houses and their security was reduced while he (Lone) was staying in a Government house. “Why did he not talk about reservation then?” he asked.
Referring to the reported proposal of the Central Government for construction of 113 kilometers long canal diverting Chenab waters to Punjab and other States to prevent flow of water to Pakistan after Indus Water Treaty was kept in abeyance, Omar said J&K should be allowed to use its water and made it clear that no permission will be given as of now for any proposal to build the canal.
“As of now, I am not going to give approval to it. Let us be allowed to use our water first, then we will talk about others,” he said.
Asserting that Jammu is facing water shortage with no water in taps, he asked: “Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already has three rivers as per the Indus Water Treaty. Has Punjab given us any water?”.
Omar said that when Jammu and Kashmir was desperate for water, Punjab did not share water from the Ujh multipurpose project and Shahpur Kandi barrage. “They made us suffer for years, and only after a prolonged struggle did they take some steps”.
“We will use it (water) first, and only then consider others’ needs,” he added.
The Chief Minister said the Government is working on two key projects — The Tulbul Barrage, work on which should resume soon, and the pumping of water from the Chenab River at Akhnoor to supply drinking water to Jammu city.
Omar expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government will stand by their commitment to restore Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“We are hopeful that the Prime Minister, who made a promise to the people and reiterated that promise during the Sonamarg event and afterwards too, and the Government will stand by their commitment, and Jammu and Kashmir will get back its status as a State.”
Asked if taking the legal route was under consideration, he said, “When the time comes to talk about legal options, I will call you.”
Meanwhile, responding to a question on Israel-Iran war, Omar asserted that war anywhere is not a good thing as he questioned Israel’s compulsion to attack Iran.
“This is not a good thing. War anywhere is not a good thing. What exactly did Iran do that forced Israel to attack? The sooner this conflict ends, the better”, he said.
Taking a dig at Israel, he said, “Two months ago, the US intelligence chief said that Iran is nowhere close to building a nuclear bomb. That was the evidence then. And now, after two months, Israel has suddenly launched an attack on Iran.”
He said that although the war is between Iran and Israel, more than 6,000 Indians have been trapped.
“We are evacuating them one by one. Ninety students (from J-K) have already been brought out, and another 400 have reached safer locations. Efforts are on to evacuate more than 6,000 students, out of which 1,400 are from Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Asked about some of the 90 students — who landed in Delhi on Thursday morning after being evacuated from Iran — complaining about the condition of buses in which they were taken to Kashmir, Omar admitted that the vehicles arranged initially “weren’t up to the mark”.
“As soon as we were informed, we arranged proper vehicles, and they are now reaching their homes… Officials there have been told to be more careful in the future,” he said.
Meanwhile, Omar returned to Srinagar via the Vande Bharat train from Katra and said that a request will be made to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Railway Ministry to increase the capacity of trains.
The Chief Minister had travelled on the Vande Bharat train from Srinagar on Thursday along with his father and National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah. They returned to Srinagar this afternoon.
Raising the issue of high demand for train travel, Omar said, “The number of passengers is high, but there are fewer trains.”
A request will be made to the Railway Ministry and the Railway Minister to increase the capacity as the tickets are reportedly unavailable until next month, he added.
When asked about the possibility of dialogue between Iran and Israel, Omar in Srinagar said. “India and Pakistan are different, and Iran and Israel are different. But this bombing should not have started. Problems should be solved through dialogue. When asked if Iran had nuclear weapons, American intelligence said no. But just months later, Israel started attacking Iran. This attack should stop so peace talks can happen.”
On U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent meeting with Pakistan army chief Asim Munir, the Chief Minister said, “The U.S. President has his own will. We cannot dictate who he calls for dinner or not. We thought he was our best friend and would care for our friendship, but clearly the U.S. acts for its own interest, not anyone else’s”.(Courtesy Daily Excelsior)