AMN / NEW DELHI
Facing flak from major political parties over his decision of to dissolve Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Governor Satya Pal Malik today defended his action saying the alliance between the former rival parties was opportunistic and not in the interest of the state.
Governor Malik said that an impending alliance between the PDP, Congress and the National Conference was “opportunistic”.
The Governor told the media that his Wednesday night decision was taken as per the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.
“In the case of Jammu and Kashmir, I don’t need to take permission from Parliament. I just need to inform the President about the decision,” he said.
On Wednesday night, in a dramatic development, the Governor dissolved the Assembly after the PDP staked claim to form a government along with the Congress and with the outside backing of the National Conference.
However, a major row broke out over BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav’s allegations that the PDP, NC and the Congress came together at the behest of Pakistan, a remark he withdrew following stiff opposition.
Addressing the media in Srinagar, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference said that since it was the PDP and not his party that had sent a letter to the Governor claiming majority in the Assembly, it was for the PDP to challenge Malik’s Wednesday night action.
The National Conference reacted angrily against Ram Madhav’s comment that the National Conference and PDP had boycotted the urban local bodies’ polls at Pakistan’s behest and were now trying to forge an alliance under directions from Islamabad.
Meanwhile, the Governor, who had dissolved the Assembly after PDP leader and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti sent him a fax on Wednesday— a claim that left most political observers incredulous— defended his decision. He said he dissolved the Assembly because he had been getting reports of “horse-trading” and he did not want an “opportunistic government” to be formed in the State which had been ruled by the ideologically different BJP and PDP till June, this year.
“The value system of politics would have been destroyed as it is happening in other States. I could not afford that,” said Malik.
Taking on the Governor, NC leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that if Malik admits that MLAs were being bought over and money was changing hands, then people should know who was doing it. “ It was the Governor who said horse trading was happening and money was changing hands. We want to know where this money came from? We want to know at whose behest this money was being given and who was being bought.”
The former chief minister also questioned Malik’s decision of ignoring a letter written by his arch-rival and PDP leader Mehbooba, staking claim to form government in the State with the help of the Congress and the NC. “The Governor gave reasons for not accepting the claim by PDP. He said parties of different political ideologies were coming together. Did you ask this question in 2015 when BJP and PDP tied up?” he asked.
“That time, it was dubbed as the coming together of the north pole and the south pole… Today, you are telling other parties that you cannot come together even though the difference on some important issues between PDP, the NC and the Congress are small compared to the BJP and the PDP”, he added.
The Congress and the CPI(M) said that the Governor’s decision was “illegal and unconstitutional”. “The Governor has no business to decide that parties with “opposing ideologies” cannot form a suitable government. By this yardstick, the PDP-BJP government should not have been allowed to be formed after the elections. All that he can do is to ask the leader who is staking claim with majority support to prove that majority on the floor of the House,” said a CPI(M) politburo statement.
Former Home Minister P. Chidambaram tweeted, “As long as no one staked a claim to form government, J&K governor was happy to keep Assembly under suspension. The moment someone staked a claim, he dissolved the Assembly!”