J&K Assembly Erupts Over Law Secretary's Letter Against Statehood Resolution

A letter from Jammu and Kashmir's Law Secretary to Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, advising against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's resolution seeking immediate restoration of full statehood, triggered sharp reactions in the House on Tuesday, with legislators across parties accusing the bureaucracy of overstepping its authority.

The letter, routed to the Speaker through the Chief Secretary, was described by Bandipora MLA Nizamu-ud-din Bhat as an attempt to override the Speaker's powers. "The Chief Secretary and the Law Secretary have written a letter, advising against the resolution. This challenges the powers of the Speaker and the government," Bhat said, demanding that the communication be made part of the record and discussed in the House. "Is this the Legislative Assembly or a panchayat?" he asked.

The controversy follows Abdullah's disclosure in the House on Monday that the Law Secretary had written to the Speaker seeking to disallow the resolution. Addressing the Speaker, the Chief Minister said he was unaware, both as Law Minister and as Chief Minister, that such an opinion and letter were being sent.

The Bharatiya Janata Party objected to the resolution, which was eventually passed by a unanimous voice vote after the Opposition walked out. Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma termed the resolution "unconstitutional" and demanded the Speaker's resignation. "The Speaker should step down. He should accept he has made a mistake and resign," Sharma said, adding that the Chief Secretary should not forward the resolution to the central government. "It is invalid," he said.

Outside the Assembly, Peoples Conference leader and Handwara legislator Sajad Gani Lone called the communication "reprehensible" and questioned the bureaucracy's standing. "How can he, who is he? Is he bigger than the people of Jammu and Kashmir?" Lone said, asserting that the Assembly represents the collective will of the people, which no official can surpass.

National Conference legislator from Uri, Sajad Shafi, said bureaucrats have no role in deciding what legislators bring before the House. "He is nobody to dictate terms: which resolution we can bring and which we can't. It is the legislators who can decide," Shafi said.

Peoples Democratic Party leader and Pulwama legislator Waheed Para said the government's past rejection of resolutions had emboldened officials. "Legislature is not subservient to bureaucracy. Legislators are the lawmakers," Para said, citing precedents such as a Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution on Waqf. He noted that the government had previously rejected eight resolutions on sub judice grounds, and that bureaucrats were now using similar language.

While the BJP maintained that the Law Secretary's letter vindicated its position, non-BJP leaders across the spectrum characterised it as an act undermining the legislature.