Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Amid a political furore over his decision to dissolve the J&K Assembly, Governor Satya Pal Malik has said that the Central government wanted him to instal Sajad Lone as the state’s chief minister.
“I didn’t want to go down in history as a dishonest man,” said Malik defending his move.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly was abruptly dissolved by Governor Malik on Wednesday night last week hours after the PDP staked claim to form a government with the backing of rival National Conference (NC) and the Congress followed by another bid from the two-member People’s Conference which claimed the support of the BJP and 18 legislators from other parties.
Things moved swiftly thereafter with Sajad Lone, leader of the People’s Conference, which has one MLA besides him, also sending a Whatsapp communication to Malik staking his claim for government formation with the support of the 25-member BJP and “more than 18 other elected members” whose names he did not provide.
Earlier, Malik had said that he was completely apolitical and there was no political pressure or interference from the Centre, and that he was “completely apolitical”.
On the charges that his office Fax machine was not working and he is not reachable ., Malik said remorsefully PDP president and ex-chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, and NC vice president Omar Abdullah could have easily contacted him if they were serious about forming a government.
He said People’s Conference leader Sajad Lone had also claimed that his two MLAs were being threatened.
The dissolution has paved the way for a fresh election in the state amid speculation that it could be held with the Lok Sabha polls due early next year.
Governor’s rule was clamped in the state on June 19 for a 6-month period following the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government headed by Mehbooba Mufti 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.
