President’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir: Had no other option, says Rajanth Singh

The Lok Sabha on Friday adopted a statutory resolution on imposition of President’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir, with Union home minister Rajnath Singh claiming that the Centre was left with no other option as none of the political parties or alliances had staked claim to form a government after the exit of the PDP-BJP dispensation.

“Our intentions should never be doubted on Jammu and Kashmir,” Union home minister Rajnath Singh said in Lok Sabha after the Opposition cried foul over the imposition of President’s Rule in the state.

Rajnath Singh, in a nutshell said that, “I am glad that we are discussing the imposition of President’s rule, because I believe that deliberation and discussion is the basis of a democracy.” He goes on to explain that Congress did not have majority and hence the President’s rule was imposed. Farooq Abdullah objects to this.

The Statutory Resolution on imposition of President’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir, which requires Parliament’s approval, was adopted with voice vote amid din in the House.https://t.co/fZypb19E13

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) December 28, 2018

Singh explained how the Governor spoke to all parties and submitted a reporting saying that no party has majority to do the same.  The Governor said no one has staked claim to form government following which he sent his recommendations to Presidents.

The HM continued to say that don’t raise questions on the intentions of this government – if it was so, we could have done that a long time ago.  We tried our best to make the alliance work. Kashmir problem is ages old – the people of Kashmir are our own, we are hurting when they are hurting too.  I visited J&K twice with all party delegation. People said I should talk with stakeholders – I was ready to,  I told everyone who wants to talk on the issue can come and meet me.

Mr. Singh went on to list the government’s achievements in the State to which Opposition leaders say that first hold elections.

“If BJP had to form the government, we could have done it within six months of Governor’s Rule (being declared,” continued Singh in his reply to a debate on a statutory resolution to approve proclamation issued by President on December 19.  The resolution was adopted with a voice vote.

“The government doesn’t conduct elections but the government is ready for the election. It is the responsibility of the Election Commission to hold elections… we are totally committed to democratic process,” he told the lower house while replying to the Statutory Resolution on imposition of President’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir.

Former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah however said that whether an alternative government was feasible or not should have been determined not at the residence of the governor, but on the floor of the assembly.

Singh added that the government is committed to democratic processes and rejected the charge that it was backing a regional party to form government in the state. “Believe me, there never was such an effort,” Singh said.

His remark was in response to the opposition’s charge that the BJP, with 25 MLAs, was backing Sajjad Lone’s chief ministerial bid in Kashmir after Mehbooba Mufti’s government, a coalition one between the BJP-and the People’s Democratic Party fell. Lone’s Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference had 2 MLAs in the dissolved assembly.

The BJP withdrew support to the Mufti government on June 19 and the state was placed under governor’s rule for six months. Governor Satyapal Malik dissolved the state assembly on November 21, claiming no party was in a position to form government.

Congress’s Shashi Tharoor said Malik acted in “gross violation” of a Supreme Court order in the SR Bommai case that stated that whether an alliance has a majority or not can be decided only on the floor of the assembly. The governor’s “private assessment” is anathema to the Constitution and is also subject to personal malfeasance, he said.

“Did the governor give in writing, listing the reasons for the recommendation of President’s rule. I request you to share it with the Lok Sabha?” said Tharoor.