The President’s rule imposed in undivided Jammu and Kashmir has been by the Central government after it issued a notification with regard to the creation of two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The state of Jammu and Kashmir ceased to exist at midnight Wednesday and was converted into two Union Territories, 86 days after Parliament abrogated its special status granted to the state under Article 370 of the Constitution.
The UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh will be headed by Lieutenant Governors GC Murmu and RK Mathur, respectively. They will take oath on Thursday. The swearing-in ceremony will be first held in Leh where Mathur would be administered oath of office followed by that of Murmu in Srinagar. Both Murmu and Mathur will be sworn-in by Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Gita Mittal.
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification on Monday in which it replaced the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the Union Territory. The late night notification also announced the omission of permanent residents or hereditary state subjects. It added that all central laws will be now applicable in the two UTs.
“… there are references in the state laws that have been applied to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and the Union Territory of Ladakh to the expressions ‘permanent residents’ or ‘hereditary state subjects’…, wherever they occur, shall be omitted,” it said.
This is for the first time that a state in the country is being converted into two UTs. The total number of states in the country will now be 28, while the total UTs will go up to nine.
The creation of new UTs commemorates the birth anniversary of India’s first Home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is credited for the merger of over 560 states into the Union of India. The day is celebrated as National Unity Day.
