The State of Jammu & Kashmir, often labelled as the crown of India, is all set to be bifurcated into two Union Territories of Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh on Thursday amid tight security arrangements.
The new UTs will be born on the National Unity Day, the birth anniversary of 'iron man' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, first home minister of India.
Interestingly, the Union territory of Ladkah, the junior partner, will take birth ahead of Jammu and Kashmir.
Chief Justice of J& K High Court, Gita Mittal, is scheduled to administer oath of office to former civil servant Radha Krishna Mathur, as the first lieutenant governor of Ladakh early Thursday morning.
She will return to Srinagar to attend the official function where Girish Chandra Murmu, a former bureaucrat from PM Modi’s home State of Gujarat, will be sworn in as the first Lieutenant Governor of J& K
According to Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, UT of Ladakh will not have an assembly and will be directly governed by the Union Home Ministry through the L-G, while Jammu Kashmir will have an assembly and will largely work along the lines of the Delhi model. So far the rules to govern the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 are yet to be notified.
Ahead of the oath taking ceremony, Lt Governor designate of Jammu & Kashmir, Girish Chandra Murmu arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday
At Srinagar International Airport he was received by Advisor Farooq Khan and Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam.
Principal Secretary Home, Shaleen Kabra; Principal Secretary Hospitality and Protocol, Rohit Kansal; DG Police, Dilbagh Singh; Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan; IGP Kashmir, SP Pani; Deputy Commissioner Budgam, Tariq Ahmed Ganai; Director Hospitality and Protocol, Tariq Ahmed Zargar and other officers of the State Government were present to receive him.
Meanwhile, the Government also issued a clarification claiming that Advisor to Governor, K Vijay Kumar has not resigned. Infact, the tenure of the Advisor Kumar was co-terminus with the term of the office of the Governor, an official spokesman said. In Jammu, National Conference Provincial President Devender Singh Rana appealed to the President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and above all to the Parliament, for retention
of statehood to Jammu & Kashmir.
“Let’s all rise above political affiliations and party ideologies and give vent to the legitimate aspirations of people before the country’s leadership as a single entity in the larger interest of Jammu, which is psychologically feeling a sense of loss on the impending downgrading of the State as a Union Territory”, Rana said while addressing a press conference at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan here this morning.
