Suhail Khan
SRINAGAR, DEC 04: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that the public’s priority lies in substantive governance rather than the renaming of institutions, following the Union Territory’s official rebranding of the Governor’s residence.
CM Omar reframed the classic query as per Kashmir Convener, asking, “What’s in a name? What will this improve from the governance point of view in Jammu and Kashmir?”
“While altering names is permissible, we should focus on more progressive changes in how the government functions,” the Chief Minister stated. “People are not preoccupied with the politics of renaming; they evaluate our performance. They assess statistics and outcomes, not the titles of institutions.”
He further elaborated on the public’s perspective, stating, “A name change should imply that more work will now be done for the people.” In a pointed rhetorical question, he added, “How does it matter to the public whether I refer to myself as chief minister, mukhyamantri, or wazeer-e-ala?”
The comments come in the wake of the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s formal redesignation of ‘Raj Bhawan’ as ‘Lok Bhawan,’ enacted pursuant to a recent advisory issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Consequently, both the official residences of the Lieutenant Governor in Srinagar and Jammu will now operate under the new title, marking a shift in administrative nomenclature.
With this change, Jammu and Kashmir joins eight other states that have similarly renamed their governor or lieutenant governor’s official residence from ‘Raj Bhavan’ or ‘Raj Niwas’ to ‘Lok Bhavan’ or ‘Lok Niwas.’
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