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| JK must be empowered to exercise control: Mehbooba | | |
New Delhi, September 02 – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today made it clear that the relationship between the Union of India and the state of Jammu & Kashmir must be based on institutional guarantees and operational instrumentalities that could then flow down to the regions and sub-regions of the State.
"No matter what kind of changes are proposed in the relationship between the Centre and the State, these must have two overriding provisions – institutional guarantee and operational instrumentalities of exercising control over the powers that are or will be vested with the State Government," PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti said in her presentation at the 4 th meeting of the Working Group on Centre-State relations here today. "The reason is that, it lacks control, as even being autonomous, the State is not empowered to exercise control," she said.
Mehbooba said the design of a new federal set up for the State, as envisioned in PDP's Self-Rule proposal, has to be contextualised in the emerging global scenario. "Once the State is empowered politically, economically and socially with adequate guarantees, that empowerment could be then shared by the regions and sub-regions of the State under the regional-federal structure," she said.
Mehbooba said Article 249, applied to the State in amended form, should be rolled back so that the Parliament cannot exercise legislative jurisdiction over a matter which, otherwise, falls under the State jurisdiction. "The residuary powers must be restored to the state," she maintained.
Mehbooba said the 6 th amendment of the Constitution of the State, which undermines its original scheme of a comprehensive and accountable executive, must be repealed. "The State must be granted the powers to have an elected Governor or the Sadar-e-Riyasat," she said and added that the State Legislature's constitutional power of amendment is the core of empowerment or Self-rule of the State and this cannot be destroyed by an order passed under Article 370. "The Centre-state financial relations vis-à-vis J&K are very ambiguous and adhoc," she said and added that in fact, the State government has never been taken into confidence, as it has been on other matters, regarding this aspect. "There is need to rework the centre-state financial relations between J&K and the Union along empowered lines," she said and added that prior to being politically autonomous, it is imperative that the State has fiscal autonomy.
Mehbooba said, as a confidence building measure the Government of India must respond positively to the recommendation of the State Government regarding according Scheduled Tribe status to the Pahari speaking people in the State. "The Government of India must act fast on this issue as has been recommended by the State Government," she said.
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