Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Tuesday, 6 October firmly ruled out any government policy to shut down public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the union territory, declaring instead that officials and leaders responsible for financial losses would be held accountable. Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Choudhary said the government's priority was to diagnose the root causes of PSU deficits and restore their viability — not to wind them down.

No Shutdown Policy Under Omar Abdullah Government

Choudhary was unambiguous about the Omar Abdullah-led administration's stance. 'As I am standing before you, there is no policy of shutting down any PSU of Omar Abdullah,' he said. He emphasised that PSUs were part of J&K's heritage and that financial difficulties alone were not sufficient grounds for closure. Committees, he added, had already been constituted to examine specific cases and explore whether struggling entities could be revived.

Accountability for Financial Losses

'Why should it be shut down? We will have to find the causes and reasons. How did the PSU go into a deficit? The officers who put it in a deficit should be held accountable, and the leaders who put it in a deficit should also be held accountable,' Choudhary said. This marks a notable shift in tone, with the Deputy Chief Minister directing scrutiny at both bureaucratic and political actors who may have contributed to poor financial management within state-run entities.

CAG Report and New Industrial Policy

On the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, Choudhary said the government would study its contents before arriving at any conclusions. 'There will be a discussion on it, there will be a debate. After that, we will come to a conclusion,' he said. Separately, addressing concerns raised by industrialists over the implementation of the ₹28,400-crore industrial package, he said a new industrial policy for J&K was in its final stage. The policy, he said, would resolve bottlenecks, address alleged discrimination, and correct shortcomings in the previous framework. 'The Industries Department has worked very hard under the direction of the Hon'ble Chief Minister. The new industrial policy is at the final stage and will come before you,' Choudhary said.

Electoral Rolls Controversy and Supreme Court

On the ongoing controversy over J&K's electoral rolls, Choudhary said the matter was sub-judice before the Supreme Court and deferred to its outcome. He stressed that any issue touching democratic processes carried significant weight, noting that citizens had made sacrifices to uphold the country's constitutional framework.

Hitting Back at BJP and PDP

Responding to opposition charges — from both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) — that the Omar Abdullah government had fulfilled only a small portion of its electoral manifesto, Choudhary turned the criticism around, asking both parties to account for their own performance during the recently concluded Assembly session. This comes amid broader political scrutiny of the newly restored J&K government, which assumed office after the territory's first Assembly elections since the revocation of its special status in 2019.

With a new industrial policy imminent and PSU revival committees already at work, the administration's next moves on state enterprise reform will be closely watched by businesses and workers alike.