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| Omar should have resigned after Cong pulled out of coalition: Mir | | | Bashir Assad
SRINAGAR, July 25: Close on the heels of the NC-Congress coalition deciding to part ways and contest elections independently, a senior Congress Minister in the state today said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah should have resigned immediately after the decision was announced by the Congress party.
"There is no harm in continuing in office even after the Congress party announced its decision about contesting the forthcoming Assembly elections alone. But I personally feel that the Chief Minister should have dissolved the Assembly the moment the Congress party made its decision public," Minister for Agriculture Ghulam Hasan Mir told Early Times in an informal interaction.
Mir said his intention was not to criticize Omar for holding the office. "The Chief Minister still enjoys the backing of the Congress in the Assembly, as our party has not withdrawn support. But Omar should have taken the moral high ground by resigning, and recommending fresh elections ahead of schedule. He would have gained from such a decision politically and morally," said Mir.
Mir is a senior Minister in the coalition Government from Congress quota.
Commenting on a slew of measures taken by the coalition Government after its electoral drubbing, especially reversing the much-hyped recruitment policy, Mir said that the decisions are taken by the Cabinet for public good, and not for electoral gains. Reversing these decisions for the fear of electoral defeat was not wise, he emphasized.
"Governments come and go. It is not the personal property of anybody. Administrative decisions are taken in the best interest of the general public, and the Government must stick to them, even if there is fear that the party will be voted out of power," said Mir.
In this context, Mir said the underlying objective of the recruitment policy was to discourage the educated youth from relying on Government jobs. The purpose of the Government, he said, was to encourage the youth in the state to examine other avenues to earn their livelihood. Mir stressed that the new recruitment policy was visualized with long-term benefits for the state. "On one hand, it was aimed to encourage educated unemployed youth to consider other respectable avenues of sustenance. On the other hand, the new policy was designed to cut the revenue expenditure of salary bills," he revealed. Mir has been known for his different, rather unique standing on important policy matters. He had earlier advised the Omar Government to leave the decision of enhancement of retirement age of the State Government employees to the next Government. His assertion had invited severe criticism from certain quarters.
The Minister said the educated youth of the state must change their outlook and perceptions towards work, and must look beyond casual labour. He said that there was much scope for self-employment in various sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, sheep and animal husbandry, dairy, poultry, health and education.
Mir urged that the youth would benefit much with even a small investment in these sectors. Their incomes in these sectors would help them to widen their base and focus on higher business growth.
Mir also highlighted that the Government should bring about radical but revolutionary changes in addressing the unemployment problem in a constructive and pragmatic way.
About the conversion of agricultural land for commercial and non-agricultural purposes, Mir said that a comprehensive bill was drafted way back in 2010. The Minister said the bill was tabled in the house, and was subsequently referred to a select committee for further suggestions before it was enacted.
Mir informed that the select committee failed to come out with any recommendations for the proposed bill. As a result, such a significant bill was still lying in cold storage, said Mir. |
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