Kashmir: Protests erupt over minister allegedly abusing engineer

Srinagar: A senior officer of Jammu and Kashmir Public Health Engineering department on Thursday resigned from service, accusing state minister Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan of verbally abusing him during an official meeting here but the latter refuted the allegation.

Chief Engineer of the PHE department Muzaffar Lankar submitted his resignation to the state government following alleged use of abusive language by Ramzan against him during a meeting held at Civil Secretariat which was also attended by PHE Minister Sham Lal Sharma, officials said.

PHE officials have now held a strike in Srinagar and are demanding that the minister be sacked.

Ramzan, the state minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), denied the charge saying there was no truth in it and he was only seeking an explanation for “failure” to execute a water supply scheme.

“I did not abuse him (Lankar)…I even did not get up from my chair during the meeting. You can ask his minister and Commissioner Secretary or his colleagues,” he told reporters.

The CAPD Minister said Sharma had convened the review meeting at his behest as a Rs 5.84 lakh water supply scheme at village Ramhal in his Handwara constituency of Kupwara district has “failed” to provide drinking water supply to the inhabitants, prompting them to stage daily protests.

Ramzan said he had asked the concerned authorities to investigate the matter and was subsequently informed that a senior engineer was assigned the job but the inquiry failed to complete as the officer concerned was transferred.

He said he had written a letter to Lankar on 26 June seeking an explanation for the same to which he did not get any response.

“Today when I raised the issue during the meeting, Lankar stood up and said he is an official of high integrity and you are doubting his credentials and walked away from the meeting only to tender his resignation later,” Ramzan said.

The state minister said, “As a public man, I have every right to ask details about the money spent on any scheme. The allegation of misbehaviour is not true.”

He said he held Lankar in “high esteem” and was “surprised” at his move to walk out of the meeting.

“The water supply scheme was planned two and a half years ago and was shown completed by the concerned department at a cost of Rs 5.57 crore. But the fact of the matter is that the people are still deprived of the safe drinking water and depend on the water tankers,” Ramzan said.

Meanwhile, opposition Peoples Democratic Party slammed Ramzan for “abusing an upright and honest” officer, saying “this is a new low in the working of Omar Abdullah government in the state.”

“By resorting to such type of highhandedness time and again, the NC politicians are showcasing their real face…PDP stands by Lanker and will do everything to uphold his dignity and self respect,” party president and MP Mehbooba Mufti said in a statement in .

She said the assault on the officer becomes even more serious as the minister in charge of his department, too, was reportedly present in the meeting and he could not protect his own head of the department.

PTI