Jammu and Kashmir governor denies changing residency rules after Omar Abdullah accuses him of tampering with PRC Act

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday assured former chief minister Omar Abdullah that no changes were being made to the existing Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) rules in the state and asked him not to pay heed to unfounded reports.

“There have been complaints that the issuance of these certificates gets delayed due to a variety of procedural reasons. “It is in this context of having a hassle-free process for bona fide applicants that I believe the revenue department has sought comments from a few others. [caption id=“attachment_5599591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Satya Pal Malik. News18[/caption] “This is a routine administrative matter and unnecessary meanings should not be read into it. “As a senior political leader, I would request you not to pay any heed to such frivolous and unfounded reports,” Malik wrote in a letter to the National Conference leader. The Governor was replying to Abdullah’s letter sent to him earlier, expressing “serious concern” over reports that the state government under Governor’s rule was planning to make changes in the PRCs. PRCs are issued to permanent residents of the state as defined by the state legislature under Article 35-A of the Constitution, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court. “Fax received from Malik Sahib…I’m pleased to note no changes are being proposed to the PRC certificate rules,” Abdullah tweeted later. He also posted a copy of the letter from Malik dispelling concerns over the earlier reports.