Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said on Sunday that the State was all set for President’s rule in January as there were no plans to dissolve the Assembly yet.
Since J&K has a separate Constitution, Governor’s rule is imposed under Section 92 for six months after an approval by the President.
In case the Assembly is not dissolved within six months, President’s rule under Article 356 is extended to the State. Governor’s rule expires in the State on January 19.
‘Centre has to decide’
Asked if there were plans to hold Assembly elections after the panchayat polls that conclude in December, Mr. Malik said, “There are no plans to dissolve the Assembly. There are various civic issues which will be affected by this move. The decision to hold fresh Assembly elections in the State lies with the Centre and the Election Commission. I will give the report when asked for.”
Mr. Malik was in Delhi to launch a book written by Amitabh Mattoo, academic, who was Adviser to Mehbooba Mufti when she was J&K Chief Minister.
Mr. Malik said the voter turnout in the first phase of panchayat polls on Saturday was unprecedented and comparable to Kerala figures. The Kashmir Valley recorded a 62.1% polling, a jump from the civic election figure of 35.1% last month.
No casualty
“People came out in large numbers to vote, not even a single casualty was reported. Abductions and killings happen in places such as Meerut and other parts of the country as well. Don’t demonise Kashmiris,” he said, when asked about the killing and abduction of two youths in the past 24 hours.
The killings carried out by militants were filmed and uploaded on social media, evoking severe criticism from political parties.
He said to a large extent, Delhi was responsible for the situation in Kashmir but “the time of Vajpayee ji and Modi ji was not included in this”.
He said only one youth had joined the militant ranks in the past three months and stone-throwing had come down.
He said corruption was entrenched deep in the system. “Europe is full of Kashmiri doctors, but they belong to families who advocate separatism. The children of ordinary Kashmiris drive ponies during Amarnath Yatra and they don’t even have sweaters on them. No house in Kashmir has fewer than 15 rooms and carpets that cost crores of rupees… Several officers had not filed property return for years. After I insisted, 97% filed returns,” he said.
Mr. Malik said he was fighting a tough battle on the corruption front and recently cancelled two deals involving powerful people that “nobody would have dared to touch”.
On October 27, the State government scrapped a contract given to Reliance General Insurance Company (RGIC) for a group health insurance policy for employees and pensioners and directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau to review the entire process in relation to the granting of contract.
He said his mandate was not to hold dialogues but to push governance.
