BLUNT BUTCHER
JAMMU: Notwithstanding his good work during the past nearly two months, Governor N. N Vohra will have to do a lot of explaining on unproductive expenditure of over Rs 76 lakh per month as salary of 89 MLAs and their aides, who are idling in the wake of Legislative Assembly being in suspended animation.
The poor state like Jammu and Kashmir, which is craving for funds to ensure basic ‘minimum’ necessities to the people, is grappling with uncertain political climate due to nonchalant attitude of its political class. The so-called public representatives don’t even listen to the call of their conscience and refuse their salaries as they have nothing to do.
But for the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, all the MLAs (excluding the former Chief Minister who passed away on 7 January 2016) and including those heading few corporations and other statutory bodies, are virtually sucking blood of poor tax-payers’ hard earned money. While MLA’s get a monthly salary of Rs 80,000, their PAs are paid Rs 6,000 and both these expenditures are unproductive. This is over and above other perks. Under Constituency Development Fund, first installment of Rs 92 crore stands allotted to the legislators and one can only imagine its utilization by the MLAs, given the common perception and omissions and commissions. Somebody will have to do little explaining to the people on this account.
Though the Governor exercised his constitutional obligation of inviting the single largest party in the Legislative Assembly-PDP and its coalition partner during Mufti Sayeed’s regime-BJP to form the government, yet both have not come to his expectations despite lapse of two months. The people of the State are unaware as to what transpired between the leaders of these two parties with the Governor, however the BJP went public in claiming to have sought ten days for conveying the party’s decision to Raj Bhavan. Nothing has been heard thereafter except the two parties flexing muscles and indulging in awkward posturing.
While PDP and BJP are taking undue advantage of the sobriety of the Governor, the Raj Bhavan is under constitutional obligation to find a way out as the formation of the government cannot remain an open-ended issue. Vohra will have to take a call, sooner thebetter. This will be in the interest of his fair reputation also, as the people of Jammu and Kashmir have started believing that he is working under pressure from the BJP led Union Government, which wants its state unit to get accommodated in the ministry.
In a similarly placed political stalemate in Delhi in 2014, the Supreme Court of India had on 5th August 2014 taken strong exception with regard to prolonged suspended animation of the Delhi Assembly, as the AAP and BJP had failed to stake claim for forming the government. In a landmark judgement, the apex court had asked Centre to take a decision on dissolution of Delhi assembly “one way or another” within five weeks, questioning it for continuing to keep the house in suspended animation when no party is coming forward to form the government.
A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice H L Dattu had also asked as why members of Legislative Assembly be paid from taxpayers’ money for sitting idle due to assembly kept in suspended animation. Why should tax payers’ money be paid to legislators who are not doing anything? Authority concerned should think and act,” the bench also comprising justices J Chelameswar, A K Sikri, R K Agrawal and Arun Mishra had said.
The situation is no different in Jammu and Kashmir where PDP sets conditions like more Confidence Building Measures and the BJP seeks time (to placate the senior coalition partner). The third party, National Conference has no numbers to stake the claim and in this scenario when nobody wants to make a first move to form the government, why should the people suffer. The National Conference, the Congress and the JKNPP have been demanding immediate dissolution of the Assembly.
Time has come for the Governor to end political uncertainty and dissolve the Legislative Assembly to pave way for snap polls. Peoples’ patience cannot be tested all the time. In the name of democracy, the insensitive political parties cannot take them for a ride. While the MLAs are having better of both the worlds, those of them heading various statutory bodies have neither quit their offices nor has the Governor sacked them.
Soon after making the Advocate General and other hierarchy under him to put in their papers, the political bosses of various corporations should have been shown the door. But perhaps wanting to have a democratic government from among the present lot in place, a long rope is being given to both PDP and BJP at the cost of poor tax-payers’ hard earned money. To end this unethical political exploitation, the Governor cannot afford to be a fence sitter and watch public exchequer being fleeced unabatedly.