Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha. | Photo credit: IMRAN NISSAR
J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Sunday (May 10, 2026) termed the recent move to empower Lt. Col. Manoj Sinha in the telecom sector in the Union Territory as “another dent in the mechanism of democratic governance of the elected government in J&K”.
“The decision to hand over sweeping telecom powers, including internet shutdown, wiretapping, jamming and decryption powers to the unelected power corridor of Jammu and Kashmir, is yet another dent in the democratic governance mechanism of the elected government in J&K,” said Mr. Karra, J&K Pradesh Congress Committee President and Srinagar legislator.
Mr. Karra has said for years that promises were made to restore confidence, strengthen democracy and strengthen institutions in J&K. “But such moves only reinforce the feeling that despite the chosen setup, the real authority remains concentrated elsewhere,” the Congress leader said.
National security and public safety are important, he said, “But extraordinary powers without democratic accountability in a region that has already suffered from repeated communications restrictions raise serious political concerns.”
“Democracy cannot be restored politically while governance continues to be centralized administratively,” Karra said.
J&K Deputy Director General Surinder Choudhary was also critical of the Centre’s move. “Handing over telecom to LG is the next step – let’s see what they do. We have seen many such moves before and people are well aware of what happened under their government,” Mr Choudhary said.
A few days ago, the Union Government had empowered the LG to act under the provisions of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 in situations related to public safety and emergencies of J&K.
The regulation, which was empowered to exercise the functions of the state government under Section 20(2) of the Telecommunications Act 2023, allowed the LG administration to issue instructions to intercept communications, monitor telecommunications services and temporarily suspend transmission if permitted by law.
Published – 10 May 2026 21:54 IST
