National Conference, Cong attack JK govt over social media gag order

Srinagar: Opposition National Conference today said the Jammu and Kashmir government’s gag order on use of social media was aimed at defaming and vilifying lakhs of state employees as either “terrorists” or “anti-social elements”.

“The diktat, in the form of an amendment to the J&K Government Employees Conduct Rules, 1971, aims to defame the employees as those who are unable to differentiate between right and wrong in conducting themselves on a day-to-day basis,” NC spokesperson Junaid Mattu said in a statement.

He said the order was an “obnoxious, tyrannical and unacceptable insult” to employees and depicts the “regressive mindset” of the Mehbooba Mufti-led government. “In asking government employees to not endorse the posts or tweets or blogs of any political figure even from their personal accounts, the state government has yet again exhibited a chronic sense of insecurity and intolerance to criticism and contrarian views,” the NC leader said.

Mattu said the government employees have rendered exemplary services in the face of great adversity and constitute the backbone of the system. “They have risked their lives in the thick of political turmoil to ensure essential services are not interrupted and have behaved with utmost responsibility and dignity,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Pradesh Congress Committee asked the state PDP-BJP coalition government to withdraw the notification barring state employees to use social media. A spokesman of the Congress termed the new “anti-people directive” of the state government as a “direct attack on the freedom of expression”.