Shadow Correspondent
Srinagar, NOv 24:
There is no proposal to hike electricity tariffs in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Monday, junking reports of imposition of a 20 per cent surcharge on the base power tariff for consumption during designated peak hours in the Valley.
No electricity hike is proposed, and I do not know where this rumour started,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy, Abdullah and his deputy Surinder Choudhary launched the first-ever auction of seven limestone mineral blocks in Anantnag, Rajouri and Poonch district here, a significant step in advancing the mining reforms introduced under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR Act) in 2015.
Merit, Not Religion
“I am also the power minister and so far no such discussion (to hike power tariff) has taken place, leave aside my signature on the claimed proposal.
There is no proposal to hike the power tariff before the government,” Abdullah said.
The chief minister said he has already made it clear in the budget that there will be no hike in the electricity fee.
“Unnecessarily, this has made an issue.”
On the e-auction of seven limestone blocks, the chief minister referred to his speech and said he wanted to put any speculation by his “political friends” on the issue to rest that these blocks will not be given to anyone and the central government will have no control over these.
“The Union ministry of mines is assisting us so that the blocks are allotted in a transparent manner and the mining work also starts in J&K.
Limestone is a very essential raw material for cement and attempts will be made that not only there will be mining work but a cement industry is also set up in the vicinity which could help creating jobs for unemployed youth,” he said.
Meanwhile, In a significant step toward strengthening the financial ecosystem for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Jammu and Kashmir, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was today signed between Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of J&K, and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE). The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary, Additional Chief Secretary to the CM Dheeraj Gupta, Commissioner Secretary Industries & Commerce Vikramjit Singh, Director JKEDI, Directors of I&C Kashmir and Jammu, representatives of NSE and other concerned officers were present during the signing ceremony.
The agreement aims to create greater awareness among local enterprises about the benefits of formal listing and to facilitate their potential listing on the National Stock Exchange—India’s leading stock exchange platform. The initiative is expected to open new avenues of growth, investment, and market expansion for J&K-based entrepreneurs. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah appreciated the collaborative initiative, noting that the partnership with NSE will empower local businesses with improved financial literacy, enhanced visibility, and broader access to capital markets.
“The government is committed to enabling our MSMEs and SMEs to compete at national and global levels. This collaboration with NSE will help bring transparency, investment, and confidence to our entrepreneurial ecosystem,” the Chief Minister said. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday took strong exception to the BJP’s stance on the first admissions in the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence, and said any move to grant MBBS seats without merit would require the Supreme Court’s approval.
The Constitution has a word, ‘secular’, and if they (BJP) do not want to keep the country secular, they should first remove the word, Abdullah said. Talking to reporters after the e-auction of seven limestone blocks in Anantnag, Rajouri and Poonch districts, Abdullah said he failed to understand all the “fuss” over the selection of the majority of candidates from a particular community in the first list of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME).
“When the Assembly passed the Bill for the establishment of the Mata Vaishno Devi University, where was it written that students from a particular religion will be kept outside its purview? At that time, it was said that admissions will not be given on the basis of religion but only on the basis of merit,” the chief minister said. The SMVDIME was sanctioned 50 MBBS seats this year. However, admissions given to 42 students from a particular community in the maiden batch for the 2025-26 academic year have sparked a controversy, with right-wing Hindu groups questioning the process, and demanding “minority institution” status for the newly-established institute.
Officials, however, claimed that admissions were given on merit as the institute had not been granted minority status and, therefore, no reservation criteria based on religion could be applied. A delegation of BJP MLAs led by leader of opposition in J-K Assembly, Sunil Sharma, met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday, and demanded cancellation of the admission list and reservation of seats for only those students who have faith in Mata Vaishno Devi. “Some people do not seem to like merit-based admissions. If you want admissions without merit, take permission from the Supreme Court because as far as I know, you cannot give admission without merit.
“There is a demand that admissions be given on the basis of religion, by keeping merit aside, which is not permissible according to the Constitution,” Abdullah said.
If tomorrow the government starts taking decisions based only on religion, what will happen to social welfare schemes, ration distribution, etc., Abdullah asked.
“Will police perform their duty on the basis of religion,” the chief minister asked. “Our constitution has the word ‘secular’. If you do not want to keep this country secular, remove that word,” he said. Abdullah also advised LoP Sunil Sharma to go through the Act passed by the J-K Assembly, which is there on record.
“Being the LoP, he (Shrama) can check whether it is written that seats will be distributed on the basis of religion. It talks about distribution of seats on the basis of merit. What is the fault of those who secured seats on the basis of merit,” Abdullah said, as he asked students to work hard to clear the entrance examination.
On Sharma’s claim that L-G Sinha has assured to look into their demands for revocation of the admission list and reservation of seats henceforth, Abdullah said, “How can anyone assure such a thing? Then why are you separating the Mata Vaishno Devi University and the hospital? Then say that the hospital was set up from the donations received at the shrine, and that Muslims and non-Hindus won’t be allowed to get treatment there.” The chief minister also said that when land was given for setting up the university after the Assembly passed the Act, it was clearly mentioned that seats will not be distributed on the basis of religion, but only on merit.
