Omar Abdullah has become the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Even then, he was allied only with the Congress. However, the situation now is different from before. When Omar Abdullah was chief minister from January 2009 to January 2015, Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state with its own constitution, governed less by the central government and more by state governments manage.
But now, when Omar Abdullah is again the chief minister, Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory and there will now be more interference from the Center than from the elected government. The government cannot do much without the approval and permission of the lieutenant governor.
Well, now Jammu and Kashmir will have a new government. It has been without its own government for more than six years. In such a situation, do you know how different the present Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will be?
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill was passed in Parliament in 2019. With this, the state was divided into two parts – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and two separate union territories were created. There were rallies in Jammu and Kashmir but not in Ladakh.
Article 239 of the Constitution stipulates that the administration of federal territories rests with the President. To this end, the President will appoint an Administrator in each Union Territory. There are Lieutenant Governors in Andaman and Nicobar, Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir. While there are administrative staff at Damandiu and Dadra Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep, Chandigarh and Ladakh.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill, 2019 provides that Article 239A of the Constitution applicable to Puducherry will also apply to Jammu and Kashmir. Delhi is the only Union Territory with a Parliament and Article 239AA applies there. The Delhi government has the power to make laws in all matters except police, land and law and order in Delhi.
When Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India in 1947, India had the power to make laws on all matters except defence, foreign affairs and communications. Before the abrogation of Article 370, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had many powers and the powers of the Assembly were limited.
However, after 2019, the constitutional structure of Jammu and Kashmir has undergone a complete change and now the Lieutenant Governor has a greater role than the government.
The 2019 law states that the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly can make laws on all other matters except police and law and order. But there is a problem. If a state government makes a law on any subject in the state list, then it must take care not to affect the central law.
Apart from this, the Act also has a provision that no bill or amendment shall be introduced in Parliament except with the approval of the Governor.
Now, in a way, the Lieutenant Governor is everything in Jammu and Kashmir. Although the government has the power to make laws on matters other than police, law and order, the approval of the Lieutenant Governor is still required.
Not only that, the Lieutenant Governor will also control the bureaucracy and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. This means that transfers and appointments of government officials will be subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor.
Furthermore, the legality of any action by the Lieutenant Governor cannot be called into question on the ground that he should have exercised his discretion in doing so or that he failed to exercise his discretion. None of his decisions can be challenged in court on the basis of whether he followed the advice of the Council of Ministers when making the decision.
Even before the election, the lieutenant governor has the power to appoint the attorney general and law officers.
Finally, and most importantly, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s term was previously 6 years, but now the government here only has a 5-year term, and then elections are held.
