Jammu & Kashmir Under Governor Rule Once Again as BJP Pulls Out of Alliance With PDP
Previously in Jammu and Kashmir, the Governor's rule was imposed during the tenure of Governor L K Jha in March 1977 when Congress withdrew support
New Delhi, June 19: Kashmir which has been always in the news either for Line of Control (LOC) violations or militants menace, has now made headlines for a new cause -- a sudden rift between the alliance parties BJP-PDP. The saffron party, BJP in an unexpected move has backed out of the alliance and conveyed the decision to the media in its official's press conference which was held on Tuesday afternoon. BJP's move has now put the state under the centre, that is governor's rule.
The PDP-BJP coalition marked its third anniversary on February 23, this year but party conflicts remain between both. BJP's move to split from the coalition has sent shockwaves across the PDP party. Subsequently, Mehbooba Mufti had to resign from CM's post. In an official statement, Mufti said that PDP was unaware about the development. Furthermore, after the break-up, Congress slammed BJP-PDP for their failure to run the government in the valley. Gulam Nabi Azad expressed his displeasure in his media statement.
In the coalition, Mehbooba Mufti's party PDP had 28 MLAs and BJP had 25. While the opposition party comprised National Conference party of Omar Abdullah, former CM of Jammu and Kashmir.
Previously in Jammu and Kashmir, the Governor's rule was imposed during the tenure of Governor L K Jha in March 1977 when Congress withdrew support to the then government headed by National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
Abdullah was installed as the Chief Minister of the state following the Indira-Sheikh Delhi Accord in 1975. The tallest leader of the state returned to power with a thumping majority in the subsequent elections held in July 1977.
The direct central rule was imposed in the state for the second time in March 1986 when Congress withdrew support to the minority government headed by Abdullah's son-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Shah. It was believed that the move was orchestrated to help Shah form his own party National Conference in 1984 and to form a government with Congress support. However, he had to step down after Congress withdrew support over law and order problems in the state, leading to the recommendation of Governor's rule by the Governor Jagmohan Malhotra.
The governor's rule came to an end in November 1986 as then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi entered into an alliance with National Conference President Farooq Abdullah for power sharing in the state.
Jagmohan's return to Rajbhavan for a second term in January 1990 led to resignation by then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, necessitating another round of Governor's rule. This was considered to be the longest duration of the direct central rule in the state — six years and eight months — as elections could not be conducted due to growing militancy in many parts of the state.
Now with the latest development with BJP pulling back its support, the valley has again pushed into governor's rule again.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 19, 2018 03:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).