Express expose on J-K recruitment scam rocks Assembly

The recruitment scam in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Secretariat exposed by The Indian Express, today rocked the proceedings of the House....

The recruitment scam in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Secretariat exposed by The Indian Express, today rocked the proceedings of the House. During a special four-hour sitting on corruption, the opposition National Conference several times waved copies of the newspaper report seeking answers from the coalition government.

‘‘Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had challenged the Opposition with bringing forth even a single case of an irregular appointment made by the coalition government. We have come up with a long list,’’ NC leader Mehboob Beig said as he began the debate. ‘‘Today Indian Express has exposed the bander banth (mutual sharing) of posts in this Assembly by the coalition government. One Minister even says that he (the favourite) is not a close relative of his, but a distant one. There is not just one case, but several, and it shows how it is full of nepotism,’’ Beig said, waving a copy of The Indian Express.

Embarrassed by the expose, treasury benches silently bore the onslaught of the Opposition. Beig then raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir being declared the second-most corrupt state. He said the government promised to constitute an accountability commission, but this was delayed by three years to give a free hand to the ruling party members to ‘‘plunder’’.

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The J-K Assembly had convened a special sitting to discuss the adjournment motion moved by the Opposition NC. Senior NC leader Sharif-ud-din Shariq, brandishing a copy of the newspaper, accused the government of rampant corruption. Opposition members also referred to a large number of instances of alleged corrupt practices by coalition partners.

J-K Finance Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig, later, in his reply to the Opposition’s charges, said the government would give a written response to the Assembly. ‘‘I will ask the officers to look into these instances (of corruption) and send a written reply to every issue raised,’’ he said. Finance Minister Beig, in his reply, also made the startling revelation that the government had halted the drive against corruption, fearing it would hamper the peace process. He made a specific reference to two National Conference Ministers, saying the Vigilance Organisation had established cases against them. ‘‘Vigilance was looking for sanctioning of their prosecution. Mufti Sahib (Chief Minister), however, said this will disturb the peace process. He (Mufti) said we need their (NC) help in strengthening the process,’’ he said. ‘‘It is not our priority to run after NC men although there were clear cases. That we did not take any action, does not mean that there were no complaints. We do not believe in politics of revenge.’’

Beig admitted there was corruption in the government, but it was the system that needed changing.

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