Srinagar: Barring Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) almost all mainstream political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have strongly reacted to Governor Satya Pal Malik’s decision to dissolve the State Assembly which was in suspended animation since June 20 this year. They termed it “undemocratic” and “unconstitutional”. One of the parties, however, saw in it ‘match-fixing’.
The Congress party alleged that the Governor kept the hung House elected through the 2014 elections in suspended animation to facilitate horse trading and dissolved it to stall the attempt by secular parties including Congress, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) to form a government.
“It was an undemocratic decision by the Governor when three parties came together to stake claim for the government. It is simple murder of democracy in this sensitive state,” said J&K PCC chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir.
Asserting that it has sent a wrong message to the people, he said that the demands by political parties in the past for dissolution of the Assembly were ignored by the Governor even though they had made it clear that none of them was in a position of form the government. “But he (Governor) said that he can run the Assembly in suspended animation till 2020,” Mr. Mir said.
He added, “He was actually facilitating the BJP and its allies in Kashmir (so) that they could bulldoze other parties, arrange numbers through horse trading and allow them to form the government.” He further said, “Our alliance did not suit the BJP and the Central government. The Assembly was dissolved on their directions.”
CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said the decision of the Governor to dissolve the Assembly was taken in haste and not keeping in mind the constitutional spirit.
“Why was not the Assembly dissolved when the previous coalition government collapsed in June?” he asked and then sought to answer the question himself by saying “Probably to find possibilities to form a new alliance”.
“The BJP government in Delhi got so unnerved with the talks for formation of a popular government in infancy stage, that it got the Assembly dissolved,” he alleged.
Awami Itehad Party (AIP) leader and former lawmaker Engineer Rashid, however, termed dissolution of the Assembly as “match fixing” between various stakeholders and said that it is yet again proven that there is a controlled democracy in J&K. He said that NC leader Farooq Abdullah without wasting a second welcomed Governor’s move and Congress leadership started changing its statements.
