Category: Union Territory

PTI

New Delhi: The government on Thursday appointed Girish Chandra Murmu as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, a day after he resigned as the Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

Murmu will succeed Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, who completes his term on August 7.

“…the President has been pleased to appoint Shri Girish Chandra Murmu to be the Comptroller and Auditor General of India with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office,” a notification by the Department of Economic Affairs said.

Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind accepted Murmu’s resignation as the first Lieutenant Governor of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Former union minister and senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh Manoj Sinha was appointed in his place.

Murmu, a 1985-batch IAS officer, had abruptly submitted his resignation on Wednesday — the day the union territory marked the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The 60-year-old former IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre had on October 29 last year taken over as the Lieutenant Governor after the state was split into two UTs — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Murmu was Expenditure Secretary in the Ministry of Finance when he was appointed as the Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He also served as Principal Secretary to Narendra Modi during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister.

The CAG is appointed for a term of six years or till the incumbent attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

As a constitutional functionary, the CAG is primarily entrusted with the responsibility of auditing the accounts of the central and state governments.

CAG reports are laid before Parliament and legislatures of the states.

Srinagar: Sustained counter-terror operations in Kashmir hinterland coupled with strengthening of the Jammu and Kashmir border grid to prevent Pakistan from pushing in militants, has brought down the current number of active militants in J&K to around 200. This, according to J&K DGP Dilbag Singh, is the lowest in past many years, when up to 350-400 militants would be holed up in the Valley at any given time.

Till July 31 this year, 150 militants including 120 local and 30 foreign militants, were neutralised by the security forces. In fact, of the 80 local militants recruited so far this year, 38 have already been eliminated in counter-operations and 22 arrested. The remaining 20 are still active but the forces are on their trail, said the police chief.

Since 2019, the focus of the police and other security forces has been on dismantling the militants’ support infrastructure. Most top Hurriyat leaders were sent to jail, creating a vacuum in separatist leadership; hundreds of overground workers and stone-pelters taken into custody and made to sign bonds of good behaviour before being released; and a massive crackdown on weapon dumps across J&K and arms consignments sent by Pakistan via drones into Samba, Hiranagar in Kathua and Khour or in truck consignments entering from Punjab.

“Apart from creating a shortage of weapons for militants, the seizures have affected local recruitment since the youths are fascinated with the prospect of being armed,” said Singh.

While Militants are being confronted or neutralised in sustained cordon and search operations (CASO) that totalled nearly 5,000 this year, the border grid has been made more robust to restrict militants being pushed by Pakistan. This, Singh noted, has brought down successful infiltration attempts to 26 till July 2020, which is half of the levels in the corresponding period of last year.

Pakistan, said Singh, tries to sustain militancy in the Valley by ensuring that around 300-400 militants are active there at any point of time. If Militant’ numbers start depleting due to fatalities imposed by the security forces, they try to make up by pushing in more foreign militants from across the border. So there has to be a simultaneous neutralisation of active terrorists in the Valley and foiling of fresh infiltration bids duly facilitated by Pakistani forces through ceasefire violations, as per the DGP.

“Ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces grew by 75% from 267 till July 2019 to 487 in corresponding period of 2020. Our forces managed to reduce infiltration by half despite the 75% rise in attempts facilitated by ceasefire violations by Pakistan. However, we need to sustain this as around 350 militants are waiting at launch pads across the border, to sneak into J&K,” said Singh.

While the future strategy would continue to focus on “clean” intelligence-based counter-terror operations with minimum collateral damage, dismantling terrorists’ support network and squeezing terror funding, a Kashmir expert said emphasis must also be laid on tackling radicalisation including self-radicalisation among Kashmiri youths; stepping up youth engagement through sports promotion, skill development and increasing their employability; and bridging the development-aspirational gap. (TOI)

Murmu’s 4G comments, trespassing on mandate of EC pushed GOI to replace him

Srinagar: The appointment of a seasoned politician BJP Leader Manoj Sinha as Lt Governor of J&K will set off a political process in the Jammu and Kashmir.

According to sources, the decesion was taken a week before in New Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah after a thorough discussion on the progress in situation in J&K a year after its special status was scrapped and was divided into two UTs.

The sources told KNS that there were many voices in top brass in BJP who were supporting a political reach out with different political parties and groups of people.

“ Though Lt Governor lately tried to reach out to people through media and public outreach programme, but it did not help him much in Delhi where BJP wanted him to reach out to people. BJP leadership was angry with him over style of functioning.”

However, the immediate trigger for Murmu’s exit was his comments on the restoration of 4G internet services in the UT against the line taken by the central government, the sources said. The Ministry of Home Affairs opposes the move; saying that it fears of its misuse by anti-state elements, However Murmu in an interview said he is “not afraid how people of Kashmir will use” the internet.

Secondly, his comments on the timing of assembly elections also didn’t help, with even the Election Commission hitting him openly for trespassing in its mandate.(KNS)

‘Use of violence not going to achieve anything’

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Thursday strongly condemned the killing of Sajad Ahmad Khanday, Sarpanch of Vessu-Qazigund in south Kashmir.

In a statement issued to news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS), Bukhari observed that violence in any of its manifestations is not going to yield anything for the people except for death and destruction.

“Today’s cowardly attack on a grassroot level representative has added to the fear psychosis among the Panchayat representatives and other political activists who witnessed three such attacks in the last 10 days,” he said while urging the government to take serious cognizance of this incident.

Bukhari said the elements inimical to peace and prosperity in J&K should not be allowed to go scot free and the administration must identify and nab the culprits behind such attacks and book them under stringent laws.

“We have witnessed enough death and devastation and now this cycle of violence should end somewhere so that people of J&K heave a sigh of relief. We cannot afford the loss of another generation,” he remarked.

The JKAP president said the slain Sarpanch was elected by the people and was working to redress the day-to-day grievances of his electorate.

“Killing an unarmed grass root level social activist is a dastardly act which can never be acceptable to any civilized society,” Bukhari said, while expressing solidarity with the bereaved family.

Bukhari also sought a thorough security review for Panchayat representatives and other vulnerable political workers who reside in more violence prone areas in J&K. “The union home ministry should also take a review of the security situation in J&K and take measures to prevent recurrence of such attacks in future,” he added. (KINS)

Srinagar: National Conference leader and Member Parliament Justice (retired) Hasnian Masoodi Thursday said Manoj Sinha might have been appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to provide relief to BJP leaders in Jammu region.

“G C Murmu has been a bureaucrat and was not affiliated with any party. But Sinha is associated with the BJP. We don’t know why he has been appointed. But it may be to provide some relief to leaders of BJP in Jammu to address their issues as Murmu was staying away from political parties,” Hasnian told news agency KINS.

“Everything will be clear in the coming days for what purpose he has been appointed. There will be change on the ground only when Jammu and Kashmir gets August 4 position. Changing of faces won’t make any difference on the ground,” he added.

As per some reports in the media, differences between the G C Murmu and Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam had also resulted in some administrative problems. Murmu had started calling meetings and files to his office, and sending notes to the Chief Secretary for necessary action.

While new LG Sinha, 61, has been actively involved in working for the backward villages of eastern Uttar Pradesh. His political career began in 1982 when he was elected the president of Banaras Hindu University(BHU) Students Union. He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996 and repeated the term in 1999.

From 1989 to 1996, Sinha remained a member of the BJP national council. He was elected to the Lower House for a third term in national politics when the BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

He was former Minister of State for Railways and later held an independent charge of the Ministry of Communication.(KINS)

PTI

New Delhi Senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh Manoj Sinha was on Thursday appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, the first political leader to take charge as the LG of the union territory.

The 61-year-old Sinha comes in place of former IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu, who tendered his resignation on Wednesday night.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique on Thursday said the resignation of Murmu has been accepted.

The communique issued by the President’s press secretary Ajay Kumar said, “The President has been pleased to appoint Manoj Sinha, to be the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office” in place of Murmu.

Known as ‘vikas purush’ (leader involved in development), Sinha is a three-time Lok Sabha MP who held charge of the Communication Ministry as a Minister of State in 2016 when the telecom industry was engaged in sale of spectrum.

Sinha, a B.Tech in civil engineering, has been credited with overcoming the menace of call drop.

Elected to Lok Sabha in 1996 for the first time, Sinha, an agriculturist, is the first politician to be elected as LG of the union territory.

Earlier the Centre had appointed Satya Pal Malik, a politician, as governor of the erstwhile state before it was bifurcated into two union territories — Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir — on August 5 last year.

Sinha, who was elected to Lok Sabha in 1999 and 2014, was front runner for the post of Uttar Pradesh chief minister after the party walked away with 265 seats in the 403-member assembly.

Sinha, who began his political career after being elected the president of the Banaras Hindu University Students Union in 1982, was born in Mohanpura of Ghazipur district of eastern UP, and has been actively involved in working for the backward villages.

Murmu, a 1985 batch IAS officer, had abruptly submitted his resignation on Wednesday night on the day the Union Territory marked the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

The 60-year-old former IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre had on October 29 last year taken over as the first LG of the union territory after the state of Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded and sliced into two UTs, the other one being Ladakh.

Highly-placed sources said that Murmu was likely to be given a new assignment at the Centre.

The Election Commission had in July taken exception to the reported remarks of Murmu on timings of polls in the union territory, and said in the constitutional scheme of things, only the EC is authorised to decide on poll schedule.

PTI

Srinagar: BJP leader and sarpanch Sajad Ahmad Khanday was shot dead by terrorists near his home in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Thursday, police said.

The terrorists, who appeared to have studied the area closely, fired at him from close range at Vessu in Qazigund area, 60 km from here, police officials said.

Khanday was immediately rushed to a hospital in nearby Anantnag district where he was declared brought dead, they said.

The incident comes less than 48 hours after a BJP-affiliated panchayat member, Arif Ahmad Khan, was shot at in Kulgam district. He is recovering from his injuries in hospital.

Srinagar: The recently announced results of Class XII (CBSE) brought much-needed cheer as the school attained a 100% result. However, besides proving their mettle in the board exams, several students did the school and valley proud by securing prestigious scholarships in top-ranked universities of the world.

Asma Shakeel who scored 98.2 % has been offered a 100% scholarship worth a whopping Rupees Two Crore at Georgetown University at Qatar. She also bagged the prestigious South Asia Excellence Award in University of Nottingham worth 6500 Euros. Speaking on her achievement Asma said “I prepared for the admission process from Class IX. The school helped me in burnishing my resume by allowing me the opportunity to participate in several events like debates that helped me tailor my resume according to the requirements of the universities.”

Mohamad Ali who scored 97% has been accepted at the University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh. He has been offered scholarship worth 5000 Pounds by Glasgow University. However, he has decided to accept admission in Stockholm School of Economics, where he has been offered a 50% tuition fee scholarship. Mohamad Ali dedicated his success to his teachers and said, “I studied for a fixed number of hours every day to get good grades. However, extracurricular activities are equally important and integral to your application. It is important to show you have a strong all round profile to impress the selection team”

Syed Huda who scored 96% has been offered admission in the University of Central Florida, University of Illinois, Auburn University and the University of South Carolina, USA. She has also bagged a 95% scholarship worth Rupees 1 crore 90 Lacs at Georgetown University, Qatar campus. Speaking on her achievement Syed Huda said “I tried to tailor my application according to the needs of the universities I applied to. It is important to be clear about your strengths and goals when you write your Statement of Purpose. I spent considerable time researching it, and editing my SOP.”

Moreover, Asra Zakeeyah – a student of Class X, has been selected for one-year scholarship programme in USA under the prestigious KL-YES Programme. She will attend her one-year of high school at Sky line High School Arizona USA. Speaking on her selection Asra said “I am so excited about the prospect of studying in the US. It will allow me to closely observe and replicate the best teaching practices, and refine my personality by learning about a foreign culture. I can barely wait for the year to start.”

The award of scholarships is a direct result of the opportunities the school offers for students to explore their mettle. Students are encouraged to participate in various activities like debates, MUNs, symposiums and social work so as to develop both self-confidence and shore their CVs in accordance with the requirements of top universities.

Congratulating the students, the Principal Alistair R A Freese said, “It is so heartening to see our students are not bound by just local competition, but keen to prove themselves on the global stage as well.” Chairman Vijay Dhar also congratulated the students and said “The success of the students is the success of the school. As we continue to produce trailblazers, the day is not far when Kashmiri scholarship will get its due place in the world.”

Srinagar: Responding to nonstop attacks by militants on party leaders, BJP J&K vice-president Sofi Yousuf termed it a “big loss” for the party and said it is impossible to terrorize BJP by violence as no power can stop Lotus blooming in Valley.

Talking to KNS, he said though the killings are “big loss” for the party but I hope that newly appointed LG Manoj Sinha will take a call for providing adequate security to BJP leaders in Valley.

He said former LG Murmu had a bureaucratic mindset and could not understand the need of security cover to BJP leaders in Valley but I am hopeful that upcoming LG Sinha will positively do some favor as he had been himself a politician with great acumen and can understand the need of security in volatile situation.

“The outgoing LG Murmu didn’t know the political setup of Kashmir during his tenure as he had a bureaucratic mindset. But we hope that the upcoming LG Manoj Sinha will do a favor in this regard and provide an will take concrete measures for safeguarding the lives of political leaders and activists”, Sofi Yousuf said.

Hitting out at Pakistan, Yousuf said that several forces don’t want to spread BJP across Valley and for this they want to create fear psychosis on the ground. “Pakistan is trying to sabotage the mission of BJP. It is why militants are killing our workers”, he asserted.

“Pakistan can’t terrorize BJP through violence. Lotus has to bloom in Valley and no power can stop it”, he added.

Earlier in the day, suspected militants shot dead a BJP Sarpanch namely Sajad Ahmad Khanday at Vessu village in Qazigund block of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. The attack was the second of its kind in less than 48 hours as a BJP Panch Arif Ahmad was critically injured after militants fired upon him at Akhran Qazigund on the evening of August 4. (KNS)

Exactly a year after the government of India announced the abrogation of Article 370 as well as the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has reportedly resigned from his post.

India Today

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has resigned from his post, according to sources. Murmu’s resignation on the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 which gave special status to the erstwhile state.

According to sources, J&K L-G GC Murmu sent his resignation letter to the Centre on Wednesday evening and will vacate his post immediately. Murmu is currently in Jammu and will leave for Delhi tomorrow.

Reports that GC Murmu has resigned had been circulating on social media as well as within the state since early Wednesday.

The speculations over Murmu’s exit were further bolstered by a tweet from National Conference leader Omar Abdullah. “What’s with all this chatter surrounding the LG of J&K? Came out of nowhere a few hours ago and suddenly it’s all over social media and WhatsApp in J&K,” Abdullah wrote on Twitter.

What’s with all this chatter surrounding the LG of J&K? Came out of no where a few hours ago & suddenly it’s all over social media & WhatsApp in J&K.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 5, 2020

Murmu officially took charge as the first L-G of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019, under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

GC Murmu is a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Gujarat cadre. He also served as the principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi during his tenure as the chief minister of Gujarat.

Earlier on Wednesday, the commander of the Army’s Northern Command Lt Gen YK Joshi met Lt Governor GC Murmu at the Raj Bhavan and discussed the overall security management of the Union territory.

The L-G and Lt Gen Joshi reportedly discussed various important issues pertaining to the prevailing security scenario and the overall security management in Jammu and Kashmir.

With inputs from India Today