Dissolving Assembly was right decision as Centre wanted Sajjad Lone as Jammu & Kashmir CM: Governor SP Malik

New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik on Monday dropped a political bombshell by suggesting that the Center had instructed him to install People's Conference chief Sajjad Gani Lone as chief minister of the state.

Speaking at a function in New Delhi, Malik said that the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir gave him the power to dissolve the state Assembly without any approval from anybody.

Hitting out at People Democratic Party's chief Mehbooba Mufti, Malik said that she was now complaining that there was nobody to receive the fax at Raj Bhawan the day the Assembly was dissolved, but she should have instead fixed an appointment with him as there were many flights from Srinagar to Jammu.

"PDP has a few members in Jammu; Congress has many representatives in Jammu. They could have come to the Raj Bhawan to stake the claim for government formation. I was available on phone even at 2 in the night; my gates are always open for everyone," Malik said.

The governor said further that he was not a peon who would be expected to receive faxes. He said, on the day of Eid, nobody was there in his office. He asked Mufti whether she expected the governor to sit near the fax machine and wait for her fax.

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