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Srinagar : Peoples Conference President and MLA Handwara Sajad Gani Lone has come down heavily on the Jammu and Kashmir administration for what he described as a dangerous mix of inefficiency, cronyism and targeted scapegoating, particularly in the handling of the Finance Department.
Taking strong exception to the government’s alleged failure to release MLA funds, Lone asked bluntly, “Can the government explain its inability to release MLA funds and yet have the audacity to attach a JD Finance? Scapegoating is an old NC trait. But this is stretching it too far.”
Lone expressed concern that the officer in question was being vilified not for wrongdoing but for his identity and merit. “The first sin was this officer seems to be the son of being a Kashmiri. The second sin, of course, was that he was extremely talented.”
Calling for a shift from personal preferences to professional competence, Lone underlined the critical importance of the Finance Department in the UT’s governance structure. “Finance department requires skilled people to run it. It can’t be run on likes or dislikes or whims. A non-finance man cannot run it,” he warned.
Taking direct aim at the current ruling leadership, he stated that “We have a minister in charge who is from a non-finance background and is anything but skilled.”
Highlighting the strategic role the Finance Department plays in a region like Jammu & Kashmir, Lone said, “Needless to add, the finance department is the engine of the government and importantly, the engine of the Kashmiri economy which has a high proportion of public spending.”
He concluded with a striking piece of unsolicited but urgent advice saying that “Please put your house in order. Let skill decide postings and not cronyism. You desperately need talented people. I wouldn’t have advised you—but you are going to drown the whole boat of governance. You will go down in history as a unique government that so much excelled in inefficiency that they drowned the opposition along with their own government.”
