M A I N N E W S
Governor's rule 'to be short'
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, October 19
The decks seem to be clearing for the installation of an elected government in Jammu and Kashmir with the Governor, Mr G.C. Saxena, today announcing that he could invite any largest group in a position to provide a stable government and which, he was satisfied, might win the vote of confidence on the floor of the Assembly.
Mr Saxena told mediapersons here that there was no constitutional binding that he should invite the single largest party, but the Governor has to be satisfied whether any group commands the majority and would survive the vote of confidence in the Assembly.
Replying to a question whether he would stick to the magic figure of 44 to invite any party to form the government, Mr Saxena said the claim would have to be weighed and the strength would be based on the figure of 85 in the House of 87 because the two legislators of Leh sponsored by the Ladakh Union Territory Front (LUTF) have said that they would not support any party in the Assembly.
He said it would be his effort to keep Governor's rule as short as possible in the state and if the stalemate continued it would be the responsibility of the political parties to come back to him with a credible strength. "We will not allow the people to suffer the consequences of the current impasse", he said.
The Governor said he would not appoint any advisers at the moment, but the matter could be considered in case the Governor's rule stretched long.
He refused to comment whether Dr Farooq Abdullah had created a constitutional crisis by refusing to function as the caretaker Chief Minister beyond the midnight of October 17. Governor's rule had to be imposed without sticking to the extended deadline of October 21 because of the constitutional breakdown and more so because no political party had staked claim for forming the government.
He said the complex situation had emerged due to the fractured verdict that the people gave in the Assembly elections.
He said he held two rounds of discussions with the political parties. The situation remained fluid and nothing crystalised in the first round as no party was in a position to prove the majority on the floor of the Assembly and after the second round of talks, the National Conference, the Congress and the PDP, were requested to come back by 5 pm on October 21 in case they managed the requisite strength to form the government.
Mr Saxena said he had explained to Dr Abdullah on October 17 when he insisted that he would not continue as the caretaker Chief Minister that there was no deadline in the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir requiring that the Chief Minister should resign. He could have continued till an alternate arrangement was made.
"That created a situation of breakdown of the Constitution and I had to impose the Governor's rule under Section 92 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution as I could not administer the oath to anyone because no claim of any party was pending before me," Mr Saxena said.
Mr Saxena said the doors were open for any party to stake the claim of forming the government even beyond October 21.
Earlier, Mr Saxena congratulated voters for braving bullets to participate in the elections.
He also lauded the candidates for participating in the elections despite the killing of two contestants and bids on the lives of many others.
Praising the security forces for providing a secure environment for the conduct of poll, Mr Saxena said "I salute the memory of those personnel who lost their lives while performing their duties".
The Election Commission also came in for some plaudits from the Governor for organising visibly free, fair and transparent elections as did the state administration and police for their assistance to the commission.
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