Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah landed in an embarrassing situation on Thursday when his official media account, as well as that of the ruling National Conference (NC), announced that the government had hiked the monthly honorarium of Special Police Officers (SPOs), only to delete the post after it went viral.

The NC had promised to hike the SPOs’ honorarium in the recent Assembly elections. The party wrote on social media, “Another promise fulfilled.”

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Clarifying the issue, the NC wrote on social media that the person who posted it has been taken to task and divested of his responsibility as social media adviser to the party’s Vice President, Omar Abdullah.

“A recent post concerning the SPOs’ honorarium was shared from various handles connected to the party and the Chief Minister. This post should not have been shared and was done without any attempt to verify or cross-check the information. While we have been strongly advocating for an increase in the honorarium and are making every effort to see this done, it hasn’t happened till now,” the NC said in a statement.

The since-deleted post on Omar Abdullah’s social media handle announced a hike in the honorarium of SPOs. “Delighted to announce a hike in SPO honorarium for Jammu & Kashmir: New recruits to get Rs 12,000 monthly; after 5 years: Rs 18,000; after 10 years: Rs 24,000; and after attaining 15+ years of service, the SPOs will get Rs 30,000 per month salary. #ApkiSarkaarApkeSath,” he said.

The post quickly drew scrutiny, with political leaders questioning its validity and accuracy.

J&K Peoples Conference President and Handwara MLA Sajad Lone sought a clarification, pointing out that the salaries of the SPOs are funded by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) through Security-Related Expenditure (SRE).

“Is it true? The salaries of SPOs are funded by MHA through SRE. Still, if the state government has created or invented a way to supplement their salaries — some clarification on that. Per se, it is an MHA domain. Reposted — as NC deleted the post,” Lone said on X.

Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu also criticised the NC. “On one hand, we have @JKNC_ and the @CM_JnK constantly telling us that the Home Dept and L&O don’t come under the elected government. On the other hand, they claim credit for the increased honorarium of SPOs of @JmuKmrPolice with a cutout of the CM’s picture! Post deleted now?” he said.