Impose Governor’s Rule in J&K, says Farooq Abdullah

Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and president of Opposition National Conference (NC), Farooq Abdullah, said on Thursday that imposition of governor’s Rule in the restive state was unavoidable in order to restore normalcy. “Changing chief ministers midway won’t help. The PDP-BJP alliance is unable to deliver; hence in order to restore normalcy and peace in the state, it is imperative, rather unavoidable, to impose governor’s rule,” he said. 

He said that in the event of bringing Jammu and Kashmir under the governor’s rule the state Assembly should be placed under suspended animation. Mr Abdullah reiterated that dialogue with Pakistani and all stakeholders in Kashmir was the only way forward.

He said that the PDP-BJP alliance was bereft of a political agenda and had been forged with the singular purpose of attaining power. “The alleged ‘Agenda of the Alliance’ has been torn to shreds and debunked by the BJP. As far as the PDP is concerned, they gave the ‘Agenda of the Alliance’ a discreet burial when Mufti Sahib passed away”, he said.

When asked about reports appearing in a section of media that the PDP president and present incumbent Ms Mehbooba Mufti may be replaced with a chief minister from the BJP, Mr Abdullah said that such a step would not help restore peace in the Valley as the alliance in its entirety had failed and was unable to deliver and fulfill its political promises. “Changing horses midway won’t help. The government has become extremely unpopular and has lost the faith and support of the people  as is evident with every passing day and as seen a couple of days ago when female attendees at a government organised event at SKICC refused to be addressed by the Chief Minister and stormed out of the event raising slogans”, he said.

He said, “The imposition of Governor’s rule is not an ideal solution but in the present circumstances, where the state is being pushed back to the uncertainty and turmoil of the early 1990s, it is the only plausible option.”

He said that it was for the first time in almost three decades that an election had to be cancelled and the voter turnout in the recently held Srinagar Lok Sabha bypoll came down to 7 per cent from 26 per cent. He attributed the decline to the government’s “flawed policies and failures”. He asserted, “The imposition of Governor’s rule would calm tempers and also make the administration to be perceived as politically neutral – allowing basic governance to be restored”.
 
He claimed that the State bureaucracy too was in a state of disarray and dismay “owing to mishandling and unprecedented impropriety by the PDP-BJP government”. He said that juniors are being promoted over seniors and key departments are being run in an ad-hoc and chaotic manner. “The result is a complete failure on the governance front in addition to a failure on the political front. There is no sign of development. The only sign of the government is these ribbon-cutting photo-opportunities of the Chief Minister inaugurating projects of the previous government in the State”, he alleged.
 
Replying questions, Abdullah said an open-ended, unconditional and uninterruptable dialogue with Pakistan and with stakeholders in Kashmir was the only way forward to deal with the Kashmir issue. He said, “New Delhi has to talk to Pakistan and also initiate talks with various stakeholders in Kashmir without any restrictions and conditions. There is no other option. The sooner New Delhi does this the better it is for the State and the entire region”. He added, “My apprehension is that the damage done would be far too much to handle and reverse by the time such a political initiative is taken. There should be no further delay”.
 
The NC leader complained of discrimination being meted out to Kashmir Valley and to substantiate it referred to recent appointment of judges in the State high court. Expressing disappointment at what he said was unfortunate decision of dropping all four nominees to the high court from the Valley and filling up all three vacancies by the no

Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and president of Opposition National Conference (NC), Farooq Abdullah, said on Thursday that imposition of governor’s Rule in the restive state was unavoidable in order to restore normalcy. “Changing chief ministers midway won’t help. The PDP-BJP alliance is unable to deliver; hence in order to restore normalcy and peace in the state, it is imperative, rather unavoidable, to impose governor’s rule,” he said. 

He said that in the event of bringing Jammu and Kashmir under the governor’s rule the state Assembly should be placed under suspended animation. Mr Abdullah reiterated that dialogue with Pakistani and all stakeholders in Kashmir was the only way forward.

He said that the PDP-BJP alliance was bereft of a political agenda and had been forged with the singular purpose of attaining power. “The alleged ‘Agenda of the Alliance’ has been torn to shreds and debunked by the BJP. As far as the PDP is concerned, they gave the ‘Agenda of the Alliance’ a discreet burial when Mufti Sahib passed away”, he said.

When asked about reports appearing in a section of media that the PDP president and present incumbent Ms Mehbooba Mufti may be replaced with a chief minister from the BJP, Mr Abdullah said that such a step would not help restore peace in the Valley as the alliance in its entirety had failed and was unable to deliver and fulfill its political promises. “Changing horses midway won’t help. The government has become extremely unpopular and has lost the faith and support of the people  as is evident with every passing day and as seen a couple of days ago when female attendees at a government organised event at SKICC refused to be addressed by the Chief Minister and stormed out of the event raising slogans”, he said.

He said, “The imposition of Governor’s rule is not an ideal solution but in the present circumstances, where the state is being pushed back to the uncertainty and turmoil of the early 1990s, it is the only plausible option.”

He said that it was for the first time in almost three decades that an election had to be cancelled and the voter turnout in the recently held Srinagar Lok Sabha bypoll came down to 7 per cent from 26 per cent. He attributed the decline to the government’s “flawed policies and failures”. He asserted, “The imposition of Governor’s rule would calm tempers and also make the administration to be perceived as politically neutral – allowing basic governance to be restored”.
 
He claimed that the State bureaucracy too was in a state of disarray and dismay “owing to mishandling and unprecedented impropriety by the PDP-BJP government”. He said that juniors are being promoted over seniors and key departments are being run in an ad-hoc and chaotic manner. “The result is a complete failure on the governance front in addition to a failure on the political front. There is no sign of development. The only sign of the government is these ribbon-cutting photo-opportunities of the Chief Minister inaugurating projects of the previous government in the State”, he alleged.
 
Replying questions, Abdullah said an open-ended, unconditional and uninterruptable dialogue with Pakistan and with stakeholders in Kashmir was the only way forward to deal with the Kashmir issue. He said, “New Delhi has to talk to Pakistan and also initiate talks with various stakeholders in Kashmir without any restrictions and conditions. There is no other option. The sooner New Delhi does this the better it is for the State and the entire region”. He added, “My apprehension is that the damage done would be far too much to handle and reverse by the time such a political initiative is taken. There should be no further delay”.
 
The NC leader complained of discrimination being meted out to Kashmir Valley and to substantiate it referred to recent appointment of judges in the State high court. Expressing disappointment at what he said was unfortunate decision of dropping all four nominees to the high court from the Valley and filling up all three vacancies by the nominees from Jammu region he said, “We have always and will always support equal rights and treatment of all the regions of the State. Discriminating against one region and favouring another region for political reasons is shameful and will further add to the sense of alienation and discrimination in Kashmir”. He warned that the Government was playing with fire and will be responsible for further widening the already unprecedented chasm between the two regions. “When you rob people of Kashmir of due representation and a right to equality in judiciary and elsewhere you are the ones pushing them against the wall and leaving them with no option but to agitate and protest. There should be no discrimination. Our lawyers have rendered their services in unimaginable circumstances and risked their lives to serve the judiciary such discrimination against them is tragic and very sad”, he said. 

minees from Jammu region he said, “We have always and will always support equal rights and treatment of all the regions of the State. Discriminating against one region and favouring another region for political reasons is shameful and will further add to the sense of alienation and discrimination in Kashmir”. He warned that the Government was playing with fire and will be responsible for further widening the already unprecedented chasm between the two regions. “When you rob people of Kashmir of due representation and a right to equality in judiciary and elsewhere you are the ones pushing them against the wall and leaving them with no option but to agitate and protest. There should be no discrimination. Our lawyers have rendered their services in unimaginable circumstances and risked their lives to serve the judiciary such discrimination against them is tragic and very sad”, he said. End it