Receiving complaints of horse trading, threats to MLAs, so dissolved Assembly: J&K Governor
Jammu,November 22:
Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Thursday said that formation of a stable new government in the state was an “impossibility” as parties with opposing political ideologies “including some which have been demanding the dissolution of the Assembly” were coming together.
He termed such an alliance as “an attempt to gain power rather than to form a responsive government.
A day after Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly was dissolved, Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday said that he was receiving complaints of horse trading and threats to the MLAs following which he took this step and dissolved the Assembly.
I have been receiving complaints for past 15 days of horse trading and that MLAs were being threatened, Malik here told reporters at a press conference at Raj Bhawan.
He said, Ms Mehbooba Mufti herself complained that her MLAs are being threatened. The other party said there is planning of distribution of money, so I could not have allowed this to happen.Since the day one of my appointment, I have been saying as Governor that I am not in favour of any government formed in the state with underhand defection and horse trading, he added and said, I would instead want that elections are held and selected government rules the state.Without naming the NC, PDP and Congress, the Governor said, these are the forces who don’t want grass-root democracy in the state.On finding themselves helpless and seeing that the situation is slipping out of their hands and nothing was happening according to them, they initiated an ‘unholy’ alliance, he asserted.
I did not favour anybody and the step of dissolving assembly has been taken keeping interest of the people in mind, said the Governor.
On Ms Mufti’s allegations that nobody received the fax on Wednesday at the Raj Bhawan, the Governor said, My office was shut because of Eid, so I got no communication from Ms Mehbooba Mufti. She could have approached me a day before. On a holiday none was sitting next to fax machine.The Governor on Wednesday issued an order dissolving the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect.
The Governor came to this conclusion based on the material available to him from multiple sources.
As per official communiqu, the Governor said that the impossibility of forming a stable government by the coming together of political parties with opposing political ideologies including some which have been demanding dissolution of the Assembly; whereas the experience of the past few years shows that with the fractured mandate that is there in the Assembly, it is not possible to form a stable government comprising of like minded parties.
The coming together of such parties in a grouping is nothing but an attempt to gain power rather than to form a responsive government, he said and added that reports of extensive horse trading and possible exchange of money in order to secure the support of legislators belonging to widely diverging political ideologies just to be able to form a government. Such activities are not healthy for democracy and vitiate the political process.
Serious doubts about the longevity of any such arrangement where there are competing claims of majority, said Malik in an official handout.
He said that the fragile security scenario in the state of Jammu and Kashmir where there is a need to have a stable and supportive environment for security forces which are engaged in extensive anti- militancy operations and are gradually gaining control over the security situation.
The Governor came to the conclusion that, in this background, he has satisfied himself that the best course of action is to dissolve the assembly so as to provide stability and security to the state and hold elections at an appropriate time so that a government with a clear mandate is duly formed.