Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu resigns year after abrogation of Article 370

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu resigns year after abrogation of Article 370

Exactly a year after the government of India announced the abrogation of Article 370 as well as the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has reportedly resigned from his post.

GC Murmu is a 1985 batch IAS officer. (File photo)

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has resigned from his post, according to sources. Murmu's resignation on the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 which gave special status to the erstwhile state.

According to sources, J&K L-G GC Murmu sent his resignation letter to the Centre on Wednesday evening and will vacate his post immediately. Murmu is currently in Jammu and will leave for Delhi tomorrow.

Reports that GC Murmu has resigned had been circulating on social media as well as within the state since early Wednesday.

The speculations over Murmu's exit were further bolstered by a tweet from National Conference leader Omar Abdullah. "What’s with all this chatter surrounding the LG of J&K? Came out of nowhere a few hours ago and suddenly it’s all over social media and WhatsApp in J&K," Abdullah wrote on Twitter.

Murmu officially took charge as the first L-G of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019, under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

GC Murmu is a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service officer of the Gujarat cadre. Before his stint as the first L-G of the UT, he served as the expenditure secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

He also served as the principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi during his tenure as the chief minister of Gujarat.

Earlier on Wednesday, the commander of the Army's Northern Command Lt Gen YK Joshi met Lt Governor GC Murmu at the Raj Bhavan and discussed the overall security management of the Union territory.

The L-G and Lt Gen Joshi reportedly discussed various important issues pertaining to the prevailing security scenario and the overall security management in Jammu and Kashmir.

WHEN MURMU STEPPED OUT OF CENTRE'S LINE

While the office of the Governor and the Lt Governor has come under fire in the recent past for working on the behest of the Centre, GC Murmu made news for deviating from what New Delhi said.

A burning issue in Jammu and Kashmir has been the election of the state legislature. Assembly elections have not been held in Kashmir since 2018 -- ever since the PDP-BJP coalition government collapsed.

Last week, Murmu was rapped by the Election Commission for his comments on holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a recent interview, Murmu claimed that the J&K assembly elections could be held after the delimitation exercise is completed. He has made similar statements in the past as well.

Delimitation is the process of fixing limits or boundaries of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the country and was necessitated after the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on October 31, 2019.

The EC took a rare "exception" to Murmu's remarks on the timing of polls in the union territory, and said in the constitutional scheme of things, only the EC is authorised to decide on the poll schedule.

The poll body in a statement said it "takes exception to such statements and would like to state that in the Constitutional scheme of things, the timings etc. of elections is the sole remit of Election Commission of India."

Apart from this, Murmu has also differed from the Centre on the restoration of 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir. While the Ministry of Home Affairs has continued to oppose the move citing fears of misuse by anti-state elements, Murmu said that he is “not afraid how people of Kashmir will use” the internet.

“We have been making [a] representation for this...I feel that 4G will not be a problem. I am not afraid how people will use this. Pakistan will do its propaganda, whether it is 2G or 4G. It will always be there but I don’t see an issue,” he told a newspaper.

His statement indicated that his administration had advocated the restoration of 4G internet services in the UT but was struck down.

On January 15, an order passed by Lt Governor GC Murmu gave sweeping powers to his newly appointed advisor Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar over security-related matters in Jammu and Kashmir, a move which upset many officials in Jammu and Kashmir Police.

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