The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) on Saturday staged a demonstration seeking immediate dissolution of the Assembly followed by fresh elections in the State.
Led by JKNPP chairman Harsh Dev Singh and State party president Balwant Singh Mankotia, over 150 activists staged a demonstration at the exhibition ground here.
Addressing the protestors, Mr. Singh said it has been more than a month since Governor’s rule was imposed in the State, with none of the political parties or coalition staking claim to form the government.
He said on January 31, the Governor had sought a concrete reply from the PDP and the BJP over government formation within two days.
“Subsequently, on February 2 the PDP had put certain conditions on the pretext of confidence building measures and indulged in unwarranted negotiation for forging a re-alliance, while the saffron party preferred to implore for 8-10 days to review the conditions,” he said.
Mr. Singh said the Governor’s office was not the forum to put conditions or buy time for government formation, but a sacrosanct institution where both parties were supposed to “agree” or “disagree” over continuing the alliance.
He said the imposition of Governor’s rule, which was constitutionally imperative due to the demise of the incumbent Chief Minister, could not be prolonged or continued further.
Mr. Singh said since the time granted by the Governor was over, it should be deemed that none of the political parties were able to reach the magic figure required for absolute majority.
The JKNPP leader said since the indecisiveness on part of the PDP and the BJP was a clear indication of their inability to form the government, the only option available with the Governor was to recommend dissolution of the Assembly and pave way for fresh elections.
He said with the NC and the Congress having conveyed their disinclination to form the government and with the PDP putting forth inordinate conditions, it was only the BJP which seemed desperate to form government with mere 25 MLAs.
He said it was “unconstitutional” on the PDP’s part to put conditions and any concessions given by the BJP led government to the PDP for clinching a political deal would be “unethical” and hence constitute a corrupt practice.
Flaying the BJP, Mr. Singh reminisced that when the dialogue process over government formation in the State was underway last year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Centre would use “veto power” to make BJP-PDP alliance a reality.
He alleged that Section 92 of the Constitution could not be used as a ploy by the Centre to impose a proxy rule through the Governor, especially in a situation when the government formation in the State seemed nearly impossible. -- PTI
