“You Have Made Our Lives Hell”: Mehbooba Mufti Criticizes Centre Over J-K Reorganisation Act Amendment

PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti lashed out at the Centre on Saturday over its decision to amend the rules of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, accusing the government of making the lives of people in the Valley “hell.”

In a self-recorded video, Mufti expressed her anger, stating, “Today, you have introduced an ordinance that strips everything from the once most powerful assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, reducing it to a municipality. If any government is formed in J&K tomorrow, it will not be the BJP, and that government will be powerless, unable to transfer its employees or take necessary actions. You want to give these powers to the Chief Secretary and LG, the latter being an outsider who knows nothing about this place.”

Mufti continued, “If you don’t trust the people here, why keep them here? You have made our lives in Kashmir a living hell.”

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also criticized the Centre’s move, suggesting it would render the new Chief Minister “powerless” and hinted that elections in J&K might be imminent. “Another indicator that elections are around the corner in J-K. This is why a firm commitment to laying out the timeline for the restoration of full, undiluted statehood for J-K is a prerequisite for these elections. The people of J-K deserve better than a powerless, rubber stamp CM who will have to beg the LG to get his/her peon appointed,” Abdullah posted on X.

President Droupadi Murmu approved the amendments to the rules under section 55 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, with the changes taking effect on July 12, as per a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The move comes ahead of the anticipated assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

Government sources clarified that only the Transaction of Business Rules have been amended in the Jammu Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019. They stated, “Nothing new has been provided in these rules; it is already mentioned in the State Reorganization Act of 2019. The current amendment to rules is just clarificatory in nature flowing from the existing provisions of SRA 2019.”

The principal rules were published in the Gazette of India on August 27, 2020, and subsequently amended on February 28, 2024.