Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said there is no proposal to hike electricity tariffs in Jammu and Kashmir.

“No electricity hike is proposed, and I do not know where this rumour started,” Omar told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
“I am also the Power Minister and so far no such discussion (to hike power tariff) has taken place, leave aside my signature on the claimed proposal. There is no proposal to hike the power tariff before the Government,” the CM said.
He said he has already made it clear in the budget that there will be no hike in the electricity fee. “Unnecessarily, this has made an issue.”
Meanwhile, the CM took strong exception to BJP’s stance on the first admissions in the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence and said any move to grant MBBS seats without merit would require the Supreme Court’s approval.
Talking to reporters, Omar said he failed to understand all the “fuss” over the selection of the majority of candidates from a particular community in the first list of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME).
“When the Assembly passed the Bill for the establishment of the Mata Vaishno Devi University, where was it written that students from a particular religion will be kept outside its purview? At that time, it was said that admissions will not be given on the basis of religion but only on the basis of merit,” the CM said.
The SMVDIME was sanctioned 50 MBBS seats this year.
42 Muslim students were selected in the maiden batch for the 2025-26 academic year on the basis of merit.
Officials said the admissions were given on merit as the institute had not been granted minority status and, therefore, no reservation criteria based on religion could be applied.
“Some people do not seem to like merit-based admissions. If you want admissions without merit, take permission from the Supreme Court because as far as I know, you cannot give admission without merit. There is a demand that admissions be given on the basis of religion, by keeping merit aside, which is not permissible according to the Constitution,” Omar said.
“If tomorrow the government starts taking decisions based only on religion, what will happen to social welfare schemes, ration distribution, etc,” he asked. “Will police perform their duty on the basis of religion?”
“Our constitution has the word ‘secular’. If you do not want to keep this country secular, remove that word,” he said.
The CM also advised LoP Sunil Sharma to go through the Act passed by the J-K Assembly, which is there on record.
“Being the LoP, he (Sharma ) can check whether it is written that seats will be distributed on the basis of religion. It talks about distribution of seats on the basis of merit. What is the fault of those who secured seats on the basis of merit,” he said, as he asked students to work hard to clear the entrance examination.