Waheed Para Slams National Conference for Prioritizing Bureaucratic Transfers Over Statehood Restoration
SRINAGAR, Apr 4: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed Para on Friday launched a scathing attack on the ruling National Conference (NC), accusing the party of engaging in a bureaucratic power struggle instead of resisting the post-August 2019 political changes in Jammu and Kashmir.
Criticizing NC’s priorities, Para highlighted how the party, which once held the authority to appoint its own Sadr-e-Riyasat (Head of State) and Prime Minister in the erstwhile state, is now preoccupied with issues as minor as the transfer of Tehsildars. “A party that once appointed its own Head of State and Prime Minister is now fighting over Tehsildar appointments instead of focusing on the fundamental rights of the people. The goalposts haven’t just shifted—they’ve collapsed. Fifty MLAs unite, not to resist August 5, but to debate KAS officer transfers. Is this what governance has come to?” Para wrote on the social media platform X.
His remarks came in response to the National Conference-led legislative party meeting held on Friday with its alliance partners. The meeting was convened in the backdrop of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s decision to order the transfer and posting of 48 Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officers.
Para went on to accuse the National Conference of “surrendering” and effectively legitimizing the abrogation of Article 370 by failing to take any concrete stand. He alleged that the party’s compromises, including its reluctance to appoint its own Advocate General and nominate five MLAs in the Legislative Council, had led to its diminishing authority. “You surrendered and normalized August 5, expecting them to accommodate you in return. Had you taken a firm stand—appointed your own Advocate General, nominated five MLAs, and refused to compromise on the resolution for Article 370 restoration—perhaps the issue of transfers wouldn’t even be a discussion today,” Para asserted.
The Pulwama MLA also pointed out the party’s failure to uphold key historical and cultural symbols of Jammu and Kashmir, including the observance of Martyr’s Day on July 13, which was removed as a public holiday in 2019. Additionally, he criticized the NC’s handling of the Waqf Amendment Bill, calling it an example of “empty rhetoric.”
“The same cabinet that spent an entire month-long assembly session justifying these bureaucrats is now turning around and complaining about them. This level of political inconsistency shows how far they have strayed from their original commitments,” Para said.
