Srinagar

Governor Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik on Sunday evening replied to a letter by former chief minister Omar Abdullah who on behalf of his party had expressed concern about reports of changes being proposed to Permanent Residents Certificate (PRC) rules.

Governor Satya Pal Malik

The Governor in his letter said that no changes are being made to the Act governing Permanent Resident Certificates in the state. He said, it is an integral part of legal structure of Jammu and Kashmir and there is no attempt whatsoever to tamper with this law.

In the letter, Governor Malik also mentioned that as for the matters in the rest of Omar’s letter, he would like to highlight that no changes in the procedural rules governing the issue of PR certificates will ever be done without large consultations with all stakeholders. Malik said that to the best of his knowledge nothing of the sort is being contemplated at the movement nor have any decisions taken. However, on view of concerns expressed Omar Abdullah, Governor assured the National Conference vice president on behalf of his party that “nothing will be done to modify the procedures for issuing PR certificates.

Malik said that seeking a PRC is one of the services under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Services Guarantee Act of 2011.

Requesting Omar to not to pay heed to such reports, Governor said: “you have obligation to dispel rather than promote unnecessary mistrust among people and are always welcome to discuss issues with me, which you have been doing one in a while.” The Governor concluded the latter by saying; “Incidentally, my fax machine was working and your fax was received and confirmed by my office while you were tweeting that it was not functional.”

Omar Abdullah

Soon after the Governor’s confirmation that no changes are being made to the PRC certificate rules, Omar Abdullah shared a series of tweets and wrote: “Fax received from ⁦@jandkgovernor⁩ Malik Sahib which I’m sharing here. I’m pleased to note no changes are being proposed to the PRC certificate rules.

While appreciating the timely reply of Governor, Omar wrote: “This is how a mature democracy functions – we flag our concerns with the person in authority & those concerns are addressed. When we can’t meet face to face we use technology. I’m grateful to @jandkgovernor Malik Sb for his timely & detailed reply.

In another tweet, he wrote “@jandkgovernor Malik Sb’s assurance of consultation with stakeholders is an important one. I believe a regular mechanism of discussion/consultation will be beneficial to the state as we move closer to elections.”

Earlier, Omar on behalf of his party Omar expressed his concern about reports of changes being proposed to Permanent Residents Certificate (PRC) rules. Omar shared the letter on his twitter handle and wrote: “My letter to @jandkgovernor on behalf of @JKNC_  placing on record our concern about reports of changes being proposed to the J&K permanent residents certificate rules.”

The former chief minister said that he tried to fax the letter but the operator of a fax machine was on holiday as it’s a Sunday, and the act forced him to put the letter on social media.

“I’m trying to fax a letter to @jandkgovernor but the fax machine still isn’t working. The operator who answered the phone says the fax operator is on holiday as it’s a Sunday. Will attempt again tomorrow in the mean time am forced to put the letter out through social media,” Omar had tweeted.

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