Overview
- Speaking at UT Foundation Day in Srinagar, L-G Manoj Sinha said the elected administration must deliver and should not cite the absence of statehood to explain under-performance.
- Sinha asserted that, except for law and order and transfers of IPS and IAS officers, all governance powers rest with the Union Territory government.
- Omar Abdullah initially deferred comment until reviewing the L-G’s exact words, later defending his government’s performance and pointing to security constraints after the Pahalgam attack.
- The National Conference skipped the UT Day event in protest over the 2019 downgrade, and Farooq Abdullah disputed the L-G’s account of control over the bureaucracy.
- Reiterating Amit Shah’s roadmap, Sinha said elections were clearly for a UT assembly and urged the elected government to focus on delivery rather than the timing of statehood’s return.