No instructions given to J&K Governor Satyapal Malik, says Rajnath

However, Mr. Malik, recently said in Gwalior that “Delhi’s choice” was to encourage and install JKPC chief Sajad Lone as CM with defecting MLAs from PDP and other outfits

Rajnath Singh. File

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said there had been “no interference from Delhi” in Jammu and Kashmir.

No instructions were given to Governor Satyapal Malik on handling the political situation, which led to the dissolution of the State Assembly on November 21, he said.

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Mr. Singh, who is in Hyderabad to campaign for the BJP in the Telangana Assembly elections, told

The Hindu: “It was left to the Governor to take the decision depending on the situation [ unke vivek par faisla chhod diya gaya tha] .”

However, Mr. Malik, at a function in Gwalior a couple of days ago, said “Delhi’s choice” had been to encourage and install Sajad Lone (chief of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference) as the leader of the government with defecting MLAs from the People's Democratic Party and other outfits.“But I did not do that as I did not want to go down in history as a dishonest person,” he had said.

Mr. Singh did not comment to a question on this.

Many political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir have said there had been open differences within the government and with the BJP over the course of action in the State.