SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government has found itself at the centre of a controversy after Waleed Karra, son of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra, attended an official review meeting in Srinagar despite holding no elected position, ETV Bharat reported.
The meeting, chaired by Minister for Health and Education Sakeena Itoo, was held at Srinagar’s Banquet Hall on Tuesday and was attended by officers from various departments as well as legislators. Waleed, a medical doctor who recently joined Congress, was seen seated alongside bureaucrats and legislators, raising questions over his presence at a government meeting.
His attendance, accordingb to the news portal has sparked criticism over how an unelected individual was allowed to be part of an official discussion on development works and the implementation of government schemes in Srinagar. Defending his participation, Waleed Karra said that he had been “nominated” by his father to represent him in such meetings.
“I have been nominated as in-charge of the Central Shalteng constituency by Karra Sahab. Being his representative and in-charge of the Shalteng assembly segment, I am invited to official meetings, and I attend them,” Waleed told ETV Bharat.
However, officials in the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Srinagar refuted this claim, clarifying that the invitation had been sent to Tariq Hameed Karra in his capacity as an MLA, not to his son.
“He (Waleed) was not invited to the meeting. He had come on his own. He did not speak during the meeting,” Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Bilal Mohiudin Bhat, said.
The meeting was attended by several MLAs, including Mubarak Gul, Salman Sagar, Tanveer Sadiq, Ahsan Pardesi and Mushtaq Ahmad Guroo, along with senior officials from the district administration, police, and departments of health and education.
The portal reported that Tariq Hameed Karra, who was in Doda and Kishtwar for party-related activities, had informed the Deputy Commissioner about his inability to attend and had recommended that his son be allowed to represent him.
