Banned Hurriyat Leader's MLA Pension Tripled, RTI Reveals
RTI response shows banned Hurriyat leader Ghulam Nabi Sumji draws Rs 60,000 monthly as ex-MLA, his pension revised thrice since 2018.
A leader of a banned separatist outfit in Jammu and Kashmir has been drawing a former-MLA pension of close to Rs 60,000 a month, with records obtained under the Right to Information Act showing that the amount was revised upward three times.
Ghulam Nabi Sumji, general secretary of the banned Hurriyat (G) and a one-time close aide of separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has been receiving the enhanced pension since April 2018, the RTI reply indicates. His monthly entitlement rose from roughly Rs 24,000 to Rs 60,000 across the three revisions.
Before entering separatist politics, Sumji was elected as an MLA on a Muslim United Front ticket from Home Shalibugh in Bijbehara, in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, and served from 1987 to 1989. He resigned at the onset of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism to join the pro-Pakistan Hurriyat Conference.
According to the RTI response, Sumji himself sought the revisions. In a 2015 application to the assembly secretary, he requested that his increased pension and arrears be released, citing a revision of ex-MLA pensions. Orders were subsequently issued to release the arrears and revise his pension under the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Members' Pension (Amendment) Act.
The disclosures have drawn criticism from those who see a contradiction between publicly opposing the Indian political system and privately drawing benefits from it. Former police chief S P Vaid said the case showed how such figures continued to reap benefits from the very system they abused.
Others have framed the issue as one of transparency. Amit Raina, a spokesperson for Roots in Kashmir, said that if public money is paid to individuals who have openly opposed the Indian political system, the government owes the public an explanation. He argued that the funds are taxpayers' money and should not be distributed to those he accused of having blood on their hands.
The RTI findings also raise broader questions about whether other individuals associated with separatist politics receive similar publicly funded benefits, and what legal and policy provisions allow such payments to continue.