Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday questioned arbitrary dismissal of government employees for their alleged terror links by the Lt Governor saying that the law says that “every accused person is innocent until proven guilty” in the court.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha invoked Article 311 (2) (c) of the Constitution to terminate the services of the three employees on Saturday after investigation by law enforcement and intelligence agencies accused them of terror links.
So far, over 70 government employees have been dismissed on the charges of terror links over the past few years.
“If there is a proof against them (dismissed employees) and they have been given an opportunity to clear the allegations but failed… if such steps are taken without hearing them, the law says that every person accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilty,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He was reacting to a question on the latest dismissal of the government employees accused of terror links by the Lt Governor and said everyone is getting an opportunity to speak in the court.
“There should be a court hearing and if they fail to prove their innocence, take whatever action they want,” the chief minister said.
On Bhagwant Mann’s remarks over the centre choosing Amritsar as the landing site for Indian deportees from the United States, Abdullah said he is the chief minister of Punjab and obviously, he will be concerned for his state, especially when it is not only the people of Punjab who are being deported from America.
“There are other states and compared to Punjab, they have more number (of deported persons). Despite this, the American planes are landing in Punjab and so if he had any apprehensions or complaints, it is justified,” Abdullah said.
He also expressed his displeasure over the tabling of the Waqf bill and said “this law is against Muslims of the country and there is no other reason for such a law”.
Asked about his maiden budget, he said it is better to wait. “The (assembly) session will start on March 3 and the budget will likely be presented on March 7