SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday dismissed speculation about any crisis in his government, saying the administration was functioning normally and that any cabinet reshuffle would be carried out when he considered it necessary.
“There is no crisis in the government. Our work is going on,” Abdullah said when asked about the possibility of a reshuffle.
The Chief Minister said he had earlier only ruled out a reshuffle before August 15 and had never indicated that changes in the council of ministers would necessarily follow immediately afterwards.
“I only told you that it would not happen before August 15. When it will happen and under what circumstances, leave that to me,” he said.
Power Tariff Hike Was a ‘Compulsion’
Responding to opposition criticism over the recent increase in electricity tariffs, Abdullah said his government had never promised that power rates would remain unchanged.
He reiterated that the government’s commitment was to provide 200 units of free electricity to the poorest households, with the benefit to be delivered through solar power.
“I repeatedly explained in the Assembly that under the free electricity scheme, we would use solar panels to deliver this benefit to people,” he said.
Abdullah maintained that the tariff revision was separate from the free-power commitment and said electricity rates had been increased by only around six per cent after four years.
“We are not celebrating the increase in electricity rates. It was a compulsion for us,” he said.
The Chief Minister added that reducing losses in the power sector would lessen the need for similar measures in the future.
‘Fresh Threats to Pandit Employees Must Be Fully Investigated’
On reports of fresh threats against Kashmiri Pandit employees, Abdullah described the matter as serious and called upon the police and intelligence agencies to establish their source.
“Threats should not be coming at all,” he said, adding that the security and law-and-order machinery should not take such developments lightly.
Abdullah recalled that Kashmiri Pandit employees had faced similar threats around two to two-and-a-half years ago, resulting in what he described as a “great deal of loss”.
“Keeping all our employees safe and protecting them is a very major responsibility of the police,” he said.
The Chief Minister also pointed out that law and order did not fall directly under his government and was handled by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
“My advice to the law-and-order administration would be not to take this lightly. There should be a full investigation,” Abdullah said.
