Sajjad Lone told to vacate high-security bungalow in Srinagar, supporters cry foul
A Z-plus security protectee, the Peoples Conference chairman, who is also the Handwara MLA, has been allotted a government quarter in lieu of the ministerial bungalow that he had been occupying for a decade
People’s Conference chairman and Handwara MLA Sajjad Lone has been asked to vacate his high-security government bungalow on Church Lane in Sonwar, Srinagar, and has been allotted a quarter by the Jammu and Kashmir estates department in the city’s Jawahar Nagar.
On January 31, financial commissioner, estates, Shaleen Kabra allotted him quarter number J-64 at Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar, in lieu of the ministerial bungalow that he had been occupying since he was a minister in the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition government a decade ago.
The move has triggered criticism as Lone is a vocal critic of chief minister Omar Abdullah and the order is being seen by his supporters as a means to compromise his security.
Lone, 58, is a Z-plus security protectee. His father, Abdul Gani Lone, who was a former minister and legislator, was assassinated by militants at Eidgah, Srinagar, in 2002 when Omar’s father, Farooq Abdullah, was the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdul Gani Lone was associated with the Hurriyat Conference at that time.
Though Sajjad Lone was unavailable for comment, sources close to him said that the Peoples Conference leader is yet to receive the notice. “We saw it on social media. No other leader has been issued such a notice. The accommodation at Jawahar Nagar is small, comprising three rooms. So we have decided to shift to a private accommodation with sufficient space, particularly for security personnel,” his aide said, requesting anonymity.
Criticising the government’s decision, former party legislator Yasir Rishi blamed the Omar Abdullah government for compromising the security of the PC leader. “As CM, I remember how PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti never bothered to take the CM bungalow from Omar Abdullah. Ministerial bungalows of Devender Singh Rana, Mubarak Gul, Ali Sagar and other opposition leaders were also not touched. But look at you now, Omar Abdullah, how cheap! Set your priorities right,” he posted on X.
“When will JKNC fight for (restoration of) Article 370, statehood, jobs, and electricity with the same urgency they showed in evicting Sajjad Lone? There is no difference between the BJP and the NC. The BJP evicted Mehbooba ji from the Gupkar Fairview (residence) for her stand (in 2022), and now the NC is evicting Sajjad Lone from the government bungalow,” Rishi said.
Another senior Peoples Conference leader said history was repeating itself in Jammu and Kashmir. “In 1998 when Farooq Abdullah was chief minister, he withdrew the security of Abdul Gani Lone and then he was killed. Now, Omar Abdullah has instructed the government to evict Sajjad Lone from a secure accommodation despite knowing he faces threats and is under Z-plus security.”
Besides four former chief ministers, Lone has been provided Z-plus security due to the threat perception from across the border.