New Delhi: New governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik, met Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday during which they held detailed discussions on the prevailing law and order situation in Valley particularly in the backdrop of local bodies elections which are expected to be held sometime next month.
Mr Malik had replaced N.N. Vohra as the J&K Governor last week. The State has been under Governor’s rule ever since BJP pulled out of the coalition government of Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP.
Home Ministry sources said providing foolproof security cover for the coming panchayat elections was a major priority for both the Centre as well as the state administration since terror groups are likely to ensure that the elections are not a success.
Polls are to be held to elect 4,130 sarpanch and 29,719 panch. Elections for local bodies in the State were last held in 2011 following a long gap. Though the elections were scheduled to be held in 2016 but were delayed to the prevailing security situation in the Valley.
One of the main reasons for the delay in holding these elections was the largescale disruption caused by terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen following the killing of one of its top commanders Burhan Wani in July last year. The newly appointed Governor of J&K had also met President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
“Though terror groups will try to disrupt the elections by intimidating both general public and the candidates, but Centre wants to send out a strong message by holding the local bodies elections to ensure that democratic process in the state remains intact,’’a senior Ministry official said.
The home ministry along with the state administration will soon finalise a detailed plan for deploying additional forces in J&K to ensure that election process is completed successfully.
Meanwhile, other newly appointed governors of Haryana, Uttarakhand and Bihar also met PM Modi on Tuesday. These newly appointed Governors include Satyadev Narayan Arya, Baby Rani Maurya and Lalji Tandon from Haryana, Uttarakhand and Bihar respectively.
