When a communication popped up in the mail inboxes of many journalists early one morning about a week ago, it left many of them surprised. It effectively said that the "President was pleased to nominate former union minister Manoj Sinha as the next lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir".
Two days later, on August 7, Manoj Sinha took oath and since then has been on the job assigned to him. The former Lok Sabha member from Ghazipur has been known for his efficiency in performing tasks and his sharp political acumen, qualities in him that stood out for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.
On the evening of August 9, Sinha arrived in Delhi. The next day he had to pay courtesy visits to both the President and vice president of India. That was not all. The newly appointed L-G also had the job to speak for his union territory, to ensure its development. Throughout Monday and Tuesday, he has held meetings with six to seven department secretaries: from the ministries of home, urban development, agriculture, animal husbandry and dairy, fisheries, medium and small industries.
While in Delhi, Manoj Sinha spoke exclusively to CNN-News18 on his new job. "My appointment is a huge responsibility. The mandate is simple, that is to work towards the development of the region. A large part of the population in the region hasn't seen any development for the past many decades."
It's been a year since Articles 370 and 35(A) of the Constitution were read down. Since then many have asked of the Centre what really has changed in Jammu and Kashmir? Violence continues to be a concern. For over a year, the Valley has pretty much been under lockdown with no reliable internet service.
Sinha, who is the first IITian to take the post of an L-G, told CNN-News18, "We have to make sure that we work on the principle of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' and now 'Sabka Vishwas'. Our focus will be that of gaon (village), gareeb (the poor), jawan (soldier), kisan (farmer) and the youth and women. Every step in my ability will be focused on that alone."
"The most important thing is to establish contact with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. My idea is to establish an institutional mechanism for addressing their grievance. That's most critical. That's why the message is simple and direct. My doors are open for everyone," he added.
The task is cut out for Manoj Sinha in the absence of an elected government in the region. Immediately after taking charge, he reviewed the preparation for fighting Covid-19 in the UT and on noticing shortage of staff in hospital isolation wards, he immediately directed that appointments be made on a short term basis to attend to patients there. He also approved the grant of a special move travel allowance of Rs 25,000 to all employees irrespective of actual movement for this year, a Jammu and Kashmir administration spokesperson said.
In the coming days, Sinha would also have to undertake the task of establishing dialogue between local political parties and the Centre. J&K would also want to see how it can work towards holding democratic elections.
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