J&K Health Minister Sakina Itoo and Peoples Conference MLA Sajad Lone on 6 June publicly criticised former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti for chairing a review meeting of developmental works at AIIMS Awantipora in Anantnag district. Both leaders questioned the constitutional basis on which Mufti, currently out of elected office, assumed authority over a centrally funded institution.

Itoo's Broadside: 'Political Amnesia'

Taking to X, Itoo accused Mufti of behaving as though she were still in power, despite having lost office in 2018 and being, in Itoo's words, 'repeatedly rejected by the people.' She questioned in what capacity former rulers were conducting reviews of the AIIMS Awantipora project and asked pointedly which power centre in Delhi was directing such actions.

Itoo further argued that the irony was stark — those responsible for the project's slow pace were now attempting to claim ownership of its progress. She credited the project's forward momentum to the 'focused efforts, monitoring, and commitment' of the present government under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Lone's Constitutional Challenge

Sajad Lone went further, framing the episode as a constitutional impropriety. He argued that Mufti, not being an MLA, had no authority to chair a review meeting of a central institution. He drew a sharp comparison: if she could do so, he said, then non-elected functionaries of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could claim similar rights, given their larger organisational footprint.

Lone questioned why leaders such as Farooq Abdullah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, or Nirmal Singh had not exercised equivalent latitude, and whether such political entitlement existed anywhere else in India. He warned that Mufti's action risked opening the door to unelected individuals chairing institutional meetings in Kashmir, potentially creating what he called 'a third power centre in J&K' that could further disempower elected institutions.

Lone urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to publicly clarify the matter, asserting that 'even the Union health minister could not redesign constitutional roles' and that Mufti's chairmanship amounted to an 'unconstitutional trespass.'

What Triggered the Controversy

The dispute arose after Mehbooba Mufti chaired a review meeting of AIIMS Awantipora on Thursday. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, she said that establishing the institution had been the dream of her late father, former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and that she was glad to see it moving towards realisation. The PDP has long staked a political claim to the AIIMS project as part of its legacy in the region.

Wider Political Context

This is not the first time questions of constitutional propriety have surfaced around the roles of opposition figures in Jammu and Kashmir since the restoration of statehood proceedings and the formation of the Omar Abdullah-led government. The episode reflects the continuing tension between the elected dispensation and opposition parties seeking to maintain public visibility on flagship development projects. Notably, AIIMS Awantipora has been a politically sensitive project — its delays under previous governments have been a recurring point of contention across party lines.

With the ruling coalition pushing back sharply, the controversy is likely to intensify scrutiny of how opposition leaders engage with central institutions in the Union Territory going forward.