Though Governor has the discretionary power to withdraw or allot any portfolio to his any advisor but balance has to be maintained in the allotment of portfolios’ on the principles of equality. Allotting key portfolios’ to one advisor and offering charges of insignificant departments to the other is against the spirit of administrative wisdom. Unfortunately the Governor has allotted big chunk of key portfolios to his newly appointed advisor and distributed all the insignificant portfolios among the other three advisors who has been looking after the departments they were allotted in June this year when Governor’s rule was imposed after the fall of Mehbooba led PDP-BJP Government in the state. If at all the performance and experience of the advisors has to be a criteria for the allotment of portfolios to them the newly appointed advisor K K Sharma has the biggest disqualification of not working on any key position in Jammu & Kashmir during his more than 30 year long service career but on the contrary B B Vyas, Khursheed Ahmad Ganai and K Vijay Kumar have worked on key positions in the state . The security and law and order challenges are not new to K Vijay Kumar who has worked as IGP BSF in Jammu & Kashmir and as such he has been rightly allotted the home portfolio and again very rightly allowed to retain it.
The only advisor from Kashmir Khursheed Ahmad Ganai becoming the biggest looser in the allotment of portfolios and withdrawal of key portfolios only from two advisors Vyas and Ganai known for their Kashmir connections are obviously the intents of discrimination which the Governor Satya Malik has shown in the allotment of portfolios.
However Governor Satya Pal Malik has shown discrimination in taking away key portfolios for his other two advisors B B Vyas and Khursheed Ahmad Ganai known for their Kashmir connections. Though B B Vyas has held with distinction key positions like Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Financial Commissioner Finance & Planing, Principal Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office during the three successive popular governments and Chief Secretary of the state but surprisingly he has been divested of the Finance portfolio and allowed to hold charge of planning department. Keeping the charge of Finance with one advisor and allotting portfolio of planning department to the other makes no senses as Finance and Planning has been kept under the control of only one minister by most of the Chief Ministers also. The only advisor from Kashmir Khursheed Ahmad Ganai becoming the biggest looser in the allotment of portfolios and withdrawal of key portfolios only from two advisors Vyas and Ganai known for their Kashmir connections are obviously the intents of discrimination which the Governor Satya Malik has shown in the allotment of portfolios.
