NEW DELHI: The union ministry of home affairs on Monday defended the power granted to the lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir to nominate five members to the legislative assembly.The ministry submitted an affidavit to the Jammu and Kashmir high court in response to plea of Congress leader Ravinder Sharma challenging the constitutional validity of sections 15, 15-A and 15-B of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, which authorises the governor to make the nominations without the aid and advice of the council of ministers.Ravinder Sharma, former legislative council member and chief spokesperson of the J&K Congress, said in his petition that these sections could potentially turn a minority government into a majority, or the other way around.In its affidavit, the ministry called the plea politically motivated and defended the provision as necessary for the inclusivity and adequate representation of all communities in the assembly. “The enactment of the sections was necessitated to ensure adequate representation and inclusivity in the legislative assembly of the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir,” the centre said.Under these provisions, the LG could nominate three assembly members — two from the Kashmiri migrant community, including at least one woman, and one from among those displaced from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.The affidavit said that women were not adequately represented in the assembly, and the provision would help raise the voices of such historically underrepresented communities. The MHA further said two members from the Kashmiri migrant community were needed as several parts of the region have faced unrest for decade. It added that there is currently no assembly representative for those displaced from Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir, making this provision essential.The affidavit added that as a union territory, J&K was governed by the parliament of India. “J&K does not retain any special status and all laws made by the parliament of India shall be applicable to the UT of Jammu & Kashmir,” it read. According to the affidavit, the provision follows the statutory authority to the LGs of the union territories of Delhi and Puducherry.PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti sharply criticised the MHA’s remark, calling it a “blatant subversion of democratic principles.” She urged the Omar Abdullah government to oppose this “undemocratic precedent,” warning that “silence now would be complicity later.”
