Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], April 5 (ANI): Reacting to the meeting held by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his alliance partners in Kashmir, Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma asserted that while the National Conference (NC) has the right to hold meetings, the issue of transfers falls under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor.

Speaking to ANI, Sunil Sharma emphasized that the powers and responsibilities regarding transfers were clearly defined under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

He stated, 'The National Conference can hold its meeting; we have no problem with that, but if you talk about transfers, then the Lieutenant Governor has his own powers. When the Reorganisation Act was made in 2019, it defined the powers of the government and the Lieutenant Governor at that time.'

Sharma further explained that under the jurisdiction of law and order, all orders and transfers in the Union Territory are to be executed by the Lieutenant Governor.

He said, 'Omar Abdullah and his MLAs are troubled because they feel that the National Conference owns the entire Jammu-Kashmir.'

Earlier, on March 29, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stated that terrorism should be controlled in such a way that the mourning ends forever in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He also said that incidents of terrorism have been witnessed in many areas of Jammu for the last few years, remarks coming in the wake of the Kathua encounter. Four Jammu and Kashmir police personnel lost their lives in the operation, while two terrorists were gunned down.

Omar Abdullah visited the families of the bravehearts--Balvinder Singh, Tariq Ahmad, Jaswant Singh, and Jagbir Singh- who laid down their lives in the line of duty during the Kathua encounter.

The operation began on March 23, when locals reported the sighting of suspected Pakistani infiltrators in Sanyal. Security forces, including the J&K Police, Army, BSF, and CRPF, launched a search operation, leading to an initial exchange of fire. (ANI)