The Home Ministry’s assertion before the high court that the Lieutenant Governor can nominate five members to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly without the “aid and advice” of the elected government in the Union Territory has triggered a political storm, with the ruling National Conference (NC) saying the move “strikes at the heart of parliamentary democracy.”
The Home Ministry’s claim came recently in the form of an affidavit before the J&K and Ladakh High Court that is hearing a petition of the UT’s Congress chief spokesman Ravinder Sharma challenging the power of nomination by the LG.
Sharma said on Monday that on the next hearing on 14 August, “We will tell the court that we have to file a counter reply to MHA’s reply”.
Reacting sharply to MHA’s claim, MLA and chief spokesman of the NC Tanvir Sadiq wrote on X; “When J&K has an elected govt with an absolute majority, bypassing it to let the LG handpick members is not governance, it’s contempt for the people’s mandate. It strikes at the heart of parliamentary democracy, ignores the constitutional spirit of ‘aid & advice’, and sets a dangerous precedent where unelected appointees can rewrite the people’s verdict”.
PDP chief and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, in a hard-hitting response, said that the “Government of India’s (GOIs) decision to nominate 5 MLAs in J&K after holding elections is a blatant subversion of democratic principles”. “Nowhere else in the country does the Centre handpick legislators to override the public mandate. In India’s only Muslim-majority region, long marred by conflict, this move feels less like governance and more like control,” she wrote in a post on X.
“Following the illegal bifurcation of the state, skewed delimitation and discriminatory seat reservations, this nomination is yet another body blow to the idea of democracy in J&K. Representation must be earned through the people’s vote not granted by central decree.
“This cannot be allowed to become the norm. Hope @OmarAbdullah government rises to the occasion by challenging this undemocratic precedent because silence now would be complicity later,” she added.
The petitioner, Ravinder Sharma, said the reply of the respondents in the case has been filed at the eleventh hour, after several opportunities and now the petitioner has the right to file a rejoinder to their objections. “We shall examine the reply with our Senior lawyers and decide and seek time to file rejoinder, before the court fixes the date for final hearing,” he added.
Sharma has challenged the provisions of the J&K Reorganisation Act regarding nomination of five MLAs by the Lt Governor without taking aid & advice of council of ministers and over and above the sanctioned strength of J&K Assembly, which is total 114 (90 elected and 24 reserved for Pakistan occupied J&K).The five nominations are over and above the total strength of 114,which is wrong, he has claimed.
Moreover, the five nominations can convert a minority number to majority and majority in elections to minority, thus against the basic structure of the Constitution, the petition contends.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has informed the High Court that the Lieutenant Governor can nominate five members to the J&K Assembly without the advice of the elected government in the Union Territory.
The affidavit filed by the MHA in J&K High Court, has stated that the Lieutenant Governor can nominate five members to the J&K Assembly. The nominated members will include, two Kashmiri Pandits including a woman, one member from the PoJK community and two women, if women are not adequately represented in the Assembly. The nomination of five members to the Assembly will take the strength of J&K Assembly to 95 from 90.