Farooq Abdullah hits out at Centre, governor admin over administrative hq in Leh

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday lashed out at the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir Governor S P Malik-led administration, saying the people were being "denied" their rightful share in the newly constituted Ladakh division.

Abdullah said the people of Kargil were "being punished only to pursue the agenda of divisive politics".

"All along, it was decided that the division headquarter will be positioned on a rotational basis between Leh and Kargil and all the departments to be divided equally between the two districts. But the incumbent government issuing an SRO in favour of only one district has severely dented the genuine aspirations of people in Kargil and adjoining areas," he said.

Asserting that the decision was taken keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Sabha and the assembly elections, the NC president said the BJP in "desperation is misusing the governor administration who, without taking cognizance of the aspirations of the people in Kargil, is acting like a pawn".

"However, this move is bound to backfire on them and will certainly not (help) them in achieving the desired goals, but will inevitably create animosity between the communities," Abdullah, Member of Parliament from Srinagar, said.

Demanding the revocation of SRO 110 immediately, he said the way people of Kargil have come out in freezing temperatures and protested against the decision should serve as an eye opener for those who have "whimsically decided on keeping the division headquarters at Leh only".

Taking a dig at the recent constitution of a committee of secretaries by the government mandated to look into the demands of the people of Kargil, he said when the decision to grant division status to Ladakh was taken, no prior discussions or deliberations were held with people of the region.

"A number of deputations have already conveyed their desire to have headquarters on rotational basis between Leh and Kargil. Unfortunately, such demands were not considered for reasons known to the governor administration. This shows how biased and politically motivated the administration is," the NC president said.