Srinagar, Oct 16: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today said the Prime Minister and Home Minister have already made it clear that statehood will be granted to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time.
“Prime Minister has said statehood will be restored during campaigning in Srinagar. “And the Home Minister has said in Parliament that Statehood will be given to J&K at an appropriate time. So where is the question? What I am happy about is that developments are taking place in the same sequence as they have been promised: first delimitation, then elections, and, finally, statehood,” he said.
He assured that there would be no cause for confrontation with the new government. “Together, we will resolve such issues. I have been in J&K for four years and a lot of work has been done and now much more has to be done. I don’t expect it (any tussle). And, at least, I will not do anything that will cause a situation of confrontation. From my side, there will be no cause for confrontation,” he told Indian Express in an interview.
He said the Constitution and the States Reorganisation Act have clearly defined the role of the Lieutenant Governor as well as that of the Chief Minister. “The powers and duties are defined. So we will work accordingly. What the States Reorganisation Act has stated, the Constitution says the same thing. So it’s the same goal: to work judiciously for the peace, prosperity of the people, and development of J&K,” he said.
LG said people have given the mandate and the elected representatives should fulfill their promises to the people of J&K to provide peace, prosperity, and development. “In fulfilling this goal, all my support will be with the new Government. My message to the new MLAs is one of congratulations and that they should strive to give the maximum financial viability and stability to the Union Territory. They should run a Government for the common man and woman of J&K on the principles of peace, prosperity and development,” he said.
He said the mandate for the Union Territory is one for “vikas” (development) and for the maintenance of law and order. That is what I, too, have to ensure. “My obligation will be to ensure that no section of society is deprived of development and I hope the elected Government will act accordingly,” he said.
Sinha said the militancy is on its last leg in J&K. “The candidates and their supporters campaigned till well past midnight in many places. The voters who did not want to talk about India earlier participated wholeheartedly in the election and supported the Constitution. The second takeaway is the fact that, following the three phases of polling, there was not a single re-poll ordered, there were no allegations of rigging, and, most importantly, it was a violence-free election. Another takeaway is how after a long, long time, people gave their votes `jam ke’ (in large numbers) and this was evident from the high polling percentage,” he said.
