Calls For Accountability growing across UT
Srinagar|Oct, 16: A major political controversy has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after viral video footage showed a senior IAS officer using unacceptable language and publicly humiliating a junior female Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) officer during an official meeting.
The incident has drawn swift and unequivocal condemnation across the regional political spectrum, with leaders demanding immediate intervention from both the Union Territory administration and the Central Government.
National Conference (NC) President Dr. Farooq Abdullah expressed deep dismay over the viral clip, stating that the officer’s behavior was completely unbecoming of the Indian Administrative Service. “When I saw the incident on social media, I felt ashamed. His behavior was completely unbecoming of an IAS officer. He has put the entire administrative community in an embarrassing position,” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar.
Highlighting the civil service’s fundamental mandate, the former Chief Minister emphasized that officers are appointed to serve the public and listen to grievances patiently rather than insult subordinates or citizens. “The language he used with the woman officer was extremely inappropriate. He should be reprimanded. Instead of listening, he directly said, ‘Get out, get out.’ This is completely wrong. He should be removed from Jammu and Kashmir,” Dr. Abdullah added.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti took to social media to call out the officer’s conduct, describing it as “erratic and disdainful.” She urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to immediately escalate the issue to the Government of India. In a post on X, Mufti wrote: “Such erratic and disdainful conduct cannot be tolerated. CM Omar Abdullah must immediately take up the matter with the Government of India and demand strict action against the officer who is already facing allegations of issuing illegal gun licences.”
Peoples Conference President and MLA Handwara, Sajad Gani Lone, strongly condemned the treatment meted out to the female JKAS officer, terming the behavior a sign of a deeper systemic flaw in administrative culture. “This is much more than workplace bullying,” Lone remarked, praising the junior officer for showing courage and standing her ground under pressure. He warned that such autocratic conduct has become dangerously normalized in official channels and called for systemic accountability.
