Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik hinted on Wednesday he might be shifted out of Jammu and Kashmir following his remarks that New Delhi wanted to see Peoples Conference leader Sajad Lone as Chief Minister.
Speaking at a function marking the death anniversary of senior Congress leader Girdhari Lal Dogra in Jammu, Malik said: “As long as I am here, I’m here. It is not in my hands. But the threat of transfer is there.
“I don’t know when I will be transferred from here. I will not lose my job, but as long as I am here, I assure the people that whenever you call me, I will come.”
On Tuesday, Malik stated that he would have been left with no alternative but to install former separatist Sajad Lone’s government with the support of BJP had he consulted New Delhi before dissolving the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
Malik made these remarks during a TV interview and repeated it while addressing students at a function in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh).
“I want to make it clear once again. If I had looked at Delhi, I would have had to make a government of Lone; I would have been known in the history as a dishonest man,” the Governor was reported as saying.
Following his remarks, Raj Bhawan had issued a statement saying the Governor took an objective and impartial decision while dissolving the state Assembly.
“There was no pressure or any kind of intervention from the Centre in the entire matter and some news channels are misinterpreting the Governor’s statement and putting things out of context to convey that there was pressure from the central government,” the statement said.
Amid reports that the PDP, National Conference and the Congress were close to forming an alliance to stake claim to power in the state, Malik dissolved the Assembly on November 21.
Amid the controversies surrounding his comments from past three months, Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya pal Malik has dropped a hint that that he may face transfer from the state.
The remark has come at a time when the state is going through a major political drama from past one week.
During an event in winter capital Jammu, Malik talked about his possible transfer from the state though saying he cannot lose his job (governorship).
“As long as I’m here – it’s not in my hands – I don’t know when I will be transferred from here. I will not lose my job but the threat of transfer is there. As long as I’m here, I assure you people that whenever you call me I will come here to pay my tributes,” Malik said in his speech during a function to mark the death anniversary of Girdhari Lal Dogra.
On Monday at an event at a university in Gwalior, Malik had said , “ If I was following the Centre’s orders, I would have to make [People’s Conference leader Sajad] Lone the chief minister,” Malik had said at an ITM University event in Gwalior on November 24. His comments, which he reiterated on Tuesday, to news agencies follow allegations that his decision to dissolve the Assembly on November 21 was taken at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre.
Malik’s decision to dissolve the Assembly came after the Congress, National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party floated the possibility of an alliance, claiming that they had the support of 56 legislators in the 87-member legislature.
At the ITM University event, Malik had said, “I would have gone down in history as a dishonest man. Those who insult me will continue to do so. I am convinced I have done the right thing.”
The public relation officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Raj Bhawan on Tuesday issued a statement clarifying that there was “no pressure or any kind of intervention” from the Centre in dissolving the Assembly and that the decision was taken in an “objective and impartial manner”. “…some news channels are misinterpreting [the] Governor’s statement and putting them out of context to convey that there was pressure from the Centre,” the spokesperson said, according to ANI.
On November 21, Malik had denied claims that he had acted in a partisan manner and said that he had not received letters staking claim to form government from either Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti or Sajad Lone.
Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti praise governor
Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah praised Malik for rejecting orders from the Centre. “Leaving aside the fax machine fiasco, good to see that [the] governor refused to take dictation from Delhi, rather opted for dissolution of Assembly,” Mufti tweeted. “This could be unprecedented, given the story of democracy in the state.”
“My compliments to Governor Malik for not looking to Delhi [and] for not taking their instructions thereby stopping the installation of a government of the BJP [and] its proxies formed by horse trading, defections [and] use of money,” tweeted Abdullah.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the governor has exposed Modi government’s alleged “sinister design of installing an illegitimate government by horse trading and coercion”, PTI reported.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said Malik had done long-term damage to India’s interest in Jammu and Kashmir by dissolving the Assembly. “So, what Governor Satya Pal Malik is trying to do is really emulate his masters in Delhi who have done a PhD in flip-flop, U-turns, somersaults and the reality is that NDA-BJP government has no policy towards Jammu and Kashmir.”
Leaving aside the fax machine fiasco , good to see that governor Sb refused to take dictation from Delhi , rather opted for dissolution of assembly. This could be unprecedented, given the story of democracy in the state.
Malik, who took charge of the state in August – two months after it was placed under governor’s rule following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s decision to end its alliance with the PDP – had claimed he dissolved the Assembly due to the threat of “horse trading” and the impossibility of parties with “opposing political ideologies” forming a stable government.
