The dissolution means there will be fresh elections in the state, which may take place with the Lok Sabha polls next year. The six-month tenure of the Governor's rule ends on December 18 which will be followed by President's rule
Jammu: A day after dissolving the state assembly, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik said that a stable government is necessary to combat terrorism in the state.
Malik sent ripples through national politics as he dissolved Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Wednesday evening.
Defending his move, Malik said that a stable government can't be formed by an alliance of parties with opposing political ideologies which are possibly resorting to horse trading to ensure adequate numbers in the Assembly.
Malik said Congress, PDP, and National Conference have been demanding the dissolution of assembly since Governor’s rule was imposed in the state. “But I wanted MLAs to have the powers and funds so that development work doesn’t stop. We have also got reports of horse trading and that a huge amount of money involved in the process. This is going on past one week or 10 days, the state intelligence has informed me.
He added: "The Election Commission will decide when the elections will be held. We are ready for that. We have had four rounds of municipal elections, (which saw) not even a casualty of a bird. We can hold assembly elections too, but that is not my job. They will decide the date and schedule," he adds.
Mufti in a series tweets yesterday targeted the Governor for not responding to his tweets.
"PS - In today's age of technology, it is very strange that the fax machine at HE Governor’s residence didn’t receive our fax but swiftly issued one regarding the assembly dissolution.
Also read: J&K govt formation: Mufti joins hands with Cong, NC, BJP brings Sajad Lone in race
Responding to her charges, Malik said: "Yesterday was Eid, there was no staff in the Raj Bhavan to even give me food. Everybody was on leave, nothing was working. She could have come a day before, nobody stopped her. But even if I had got the fax, I would have taken the same decision.”
Terming claims of government formation as “opportunistic alliance”, Malik said that “there was nothing common among the parties (Congress, PDP, NC) coming together and I was sure that this coalition would not last for more than four days”.
Governor's rule was clamped in the state on June 19 for a six-month period following the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government after the saffron party withdrew support. The state assembly was also kept in suspended animation so that political parties could explore the possibility of forming a new government.
Malik’s decision to dissolve the state assembly despite rival alliances can be challenged, experts feel. As per the law, if the Governor gets a letter stating that a party is claiming to form the government and has numbers, he can only invite the party to form the government, not dissolve the assembly.
(With PTI inputs)
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