Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday claimed that the Centre’s special representative to the state, Dineshwar Sharma, was acting as a “super chief minister”, PTI reported. He added that the state government must clarify the extent of Sharma’s powers.

“What is the mission of the special representative?” Abdullah asked in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. “He works like a super chief minister, as we hear, by meeting delegations to look into the problems with regard to power, water, non-availability of doctors at hospital, unemployment issues”. The National Conference leader said it was the state government’s job to look into these matters.

Abdullah added that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Sharma were “treading parallel tracks”. “It is your responsibility and not Sharma’s to set right electricity transformers, to improve water supply or give job orders to unemployed youth,” Abdullah told the state government.

In an apparent reference to separatist leaders in Kashmir, the former chief minister said Sharma should meet “such people, who will facilitate resolution of the big issues. The minor issues could be solved by you [Mehbooba Mufti] as well”.

Abdullah asked the state and Central governments to clarify whether Sharma was a special representative, interlocutor or a spokesperson for the Centre. The National Conference leader wondered if the special representative would speak to separatist leaders like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik.

He also asked the Narendra Modi government whether Sharma intended to prepare a report and if it would be tabled in the Parliament.