Ghulam Nabi Sumji was also a close aide of the separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Ghulam Nabi Sumji, a pro-Pakistan hardliner and general secretary of the banned Hurriyat(G) in Jammu and Kashmir, continues to draw a pension of nearly Rs 60,000 per month as a former MLA, according to information received from an application filed under the RTI Act.
“If public money is being paid to individuals who have openly opposed the Indian political system, the government owes the public transparency, accountability and a clear explanation,” Roots in Kashmir spokesperson Amit Raina said.
“Sir, with due respect I beg to submit that pension of ex-MLAs has been revised and the arrear dues have been released by the Act. The pension is being seen as double standards on the part of the Hurriyat leader, who quietly enjoyed perks and privileges funded by the government while spreading secessionist messages. Orders were then issued to release his arrears and revise his pension under the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature Members’ Pension (Amendment) Act. “The country deserves answers, not chest-thumping. After all it is taxpayers’ money. This can’t be distributed to people who have hand soaked in blood.”
It is therefore prayed that my increased pension along with arrear dues be released in my favour,” Sumji wrote. He filed applications seeking a revision of his pension and it was approved not once but thrice, with his monthly pension ballooning from around Rs 24,000 to Rs 60,000. He has been drawing this enhanced amount since April 2018.
Ghulam Nabi Sumji went a step ahead by asking for more, according to the response received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. If individuals associated with separatist politics can receive public-funded benefits and even secure revisions that more than double those benefits, the legal and policy framework need to be properly explained, experts have said.
