President mid-air as J&K Governor sends report, approval comes at 6 am

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind, who is on a three-nation tour, was on a flight to Suriname when Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra sent his report Tuesday evening recommending central rule in the state, hours after collapse of the ruling coalition in J&K. 

The President arrived in Suriname at around 3 am IST; his approval for Governor's Rule was conveyed to the Union Home Ministry by 6 am.

"After concluding his consultations with all the major political parties, the Governor has forwarded his report to the President for imposition of Governor's rule under Section 92 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir," a Raj Bhavan spokesperson told on Tuesday night in Srinagar. This is the fourth time in the last ten years that the state has been placed under the Governor's rule.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled out of the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, saying it was "untenable" to continue because of security concerns and rising terrorism.

"Terrorism, violence and radicalisation have risen and fundamental rights of the citizens and free speech are in danger in the Valley," BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"Keeping in mind the larger national interest and that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, we have decided it is time that the reins of power in the state be handed over to the Governor," he added.

Minutes after BJP announced its decision to pull out of the coalition, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti resigned from the post chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

The BJP's decision to withdraw support had caught Mufti by surprise, suggested the leaders of her party on Tuesday. According to reports, Mufti was in her office when she received a phone call from Governor N N Vohra. The BJP, her coalition partner of three years, was not the one to inform her of severing ties with her party.