omarSRINAGAR: With the political impasse in Jammu and Kashmir taking a new turn with Omar Abdullah asking Governor NN Vohra to relieve him as caretaker Chief Minister and major political parties here failing to cobble up an alliance for government formation, the state is most likely headed for central rule.
A day after Home Minister Rajnath Singh sent Jammu and Kashmir Governor Vohra’s report recommending central rule in the state to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Union Cabinet is likely to take a decision on it when it meets on Friday.
Singh yesterday forwarded the report along with his comments, as per sources.
Central rule or Governor’s Rule can be recommended either by the Union Cabinet or the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.
More than a fortnight after the results of the Assembly elections were declared, neither PDP which emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats nor BJP with 25 could get the magic figure of 44 to stake claim to form a government in the 87-member House. NC has 15 MLAs while the Congress has 12.
Following the hung verdict, BJP has been in touch with both NC and PDP for government formation but nothing concrete has emerged so far to break the deadlock. NC does not appear to be in favour of joining hands with BJP while PDP was struggling to convince its cadres for a tie-up with the saffron party.
Adding a fresh twist to the ongoing political impasse here, Omar Abdullah yesterday asked the state’s Governor to relieve him as caretaker Chief Minister, saying the state needed a full-time administrator to deal with the situation along the border with Pakistan.
Omar met Governor Vohra in Delhi last night soon after his return from London after a 12-day visit to his ailing parents and conveyed to him his request.
“Just to confirm I did meet Gov Vohra sahib last night and ask him to relieve me as caretaker CM. I had agreed to stay temporarily,” Omar had tweeted yesterday.
He was asked to continue as caretaker Chief Minister on December 24 after his resignation in the wake of defeat of his party, National Conference (NC), in the Assembly poll on December 23.
Omar said he had assumed government formation would be a matter of week or 10 days. “Today we seem even further away from that goal than we were 10 days ago,” he said.
“Given the situation on the border with 10,000 displaced, the hardships of winter & the continuing need for relief for flood affected, I believe the interests of the state will only be served by a full time administrator & not a caretaker with no mandate to govern,” he said in a series of tweets.
He also needled arch-rival PDP to say that it was for that party to “explain to the people that with 28 MLAs and offers of support from 2 other parties, why the state has central rule.” NC and Congress had offered support to PDP.
(PTI)
