The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha asserted on Wednesday that all employees of anti-national credentials would be purged out of the State institutions and systems and there would be no more any place in the government for the incumbents posing a threat to the unity and sovereignty of the country.
Addressing a function after inauguration of Ayurvedic College at Akhnoor in Jammu, followed by an interview with CNN News 18 network, Sinha said that recruitment of the people of doubtful integrity and undesirable credentials had been “a deliberate and intentional” process in the past which the successive governments should not have overlooked.
With an obvious reference to the termination of eleven government employees, including two sons of the Hizbul Mujahideen chief Salahuddin, who has been designated as a global terrorist by the US government as well as the United Nations, Sinha said that their appointment into the government services was a ‘favour’ and it was not based on merit.
“One was even afraid of hearing the name of persons who were in Government jobs,” he said in an apparent reference to Salahuddin two sons who were among the eleven government employees dismissed from the services last week.
“There will be no place in the Government jobs for those who are a threat to the unity and sovereignty of the country,” Sinha asserted in a stern warning to the Government officials indulging in anti-national activities.
Sinha said that the previous (political) Government had intentionally overlooked such cases, implicitly communicating that a section of the mainstream politicians had been hand-in-glove with the separatists and the militants in Jammu and Kashmir.
“All such cases are under scrutiny and the law enforcement agencies will launch a crackdown to remove such elements from the Government jobs,” he said and pointed out that both the sons of the Hizbul Mujahideen chief were involved in terror funding from abroad.
He disclosed that as per Article 126 of Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, an investigation is conducted against the Government employees involved in terrorism who are threat to the State. He clarified that their individual conduct rather than their familial association was pertinent in termination of their services.
“It’s my responsibility to encourage the employees who are hard workers and work with devotion and punish the wrongdoers. There was a provision under Article 126 in the Constitution to take action against the employees involved in terror and secessionism and who are an insider threat to the State. Such an action against the employees was also taken in 2016. We invoked the provisions of the Constitution of India as all the dismissed officials displayed conduct and character of an internal threat,” he said, adding the action was based on proof and there was no prejudice against anyone.