SC Dismisses PIL Challenging Dissolution of J&K Assembly

The Supreme Court, on Monday, 10 December dismissed a PIL challenging the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly by Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik had said that he dissolved the J&K Assembly as he could not have allowed horse-trading in the Valley. He had earlier said that parties with opposing ideologies cannot form an alliance.

The state plunged into political crisis on Wednesday, 21 November, when Malik dissolved the Assembly after PDP President Mehbooba Mufti and Peoples Conference leader Sajjad Lone staked their respective claims to form the government in the state.

Amid reports of the PDP, Congress and the National Conference forming an alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, NC leader Omar Abdullah tweeted:

According to sources cited by The Indian Express, the National Conference would support the alliance from outside and won’t be part of the government, despite Mehbooba Mufti wanting Farooq Abudllah to be the leader of the coalition.

The reported efforts by the PDP, Congress and NC to form an alliance is said to be geared towards thwarting any attempts of the BJP to support a third front for government formation in the state, where Governor's rule would be ending next month.

As per constitutional provisions, the state will have to be placed under President's rule next month unless the Governor is convinced that a viable government can be formed.

Dissidents of the PDP supported by Sajad Lone's Peoples Conference have been speaking of a government formation in the state with the support of the BJP ever since Governor's rule was imposed.

Senior PDP leader and Lok Sabha member Muzaffar Hussain Baig ruffled feathers on Tuesday when he expressed his willingness to join Sajad Lone if a third front was formed in the state.

Governor Satya Pal Malik has said that even if the state was placed under President's rule next month, the state Assembly would not be dissolved.

The Assembly is presently under suspended animation. As long as the Assembly remains intact, there remains a possibility of different political parties trying their luck at government formation even if that means taking arch political rivals on board.

(With inputs from IANS)

Senior PDP leader Altaf Bukhari on Wednesday said that the PDP, the NC and the Congress have agreed to form an alliance in Jammu and Kashmir.

Media reports indicated that Bukhari will be the consensus CM candidate of the alliance.

A source cited by PTI said the NC is willing to extend support to the PDP for forming the government for now, but wants early dissolution of the Assembly, kept in suspended animation since imposition of Governor's Rule on 19 June, and eventually an election.

A senior Congress leader in Srinagar told PTI that his party, in principle, supports any alliance that will "keep communal forces" at bay.

"We have been working for a grand alliance at the national level and there is no reason why we oppose any such move in the state as the aim is to keep communal forces out," said the leader

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti has written a letter to J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik staking claim to form the government in the state in alliance with the National Conference and the Congress.

Mufti posted the letter on Twitter, saying that she has been trying to send this to Raj Bhavan, but "strangely the fax is not received".

"Tried to contact HE Governor on phone. Not available. Hope you see it," she said, tagging the official Twitter account of the J&K governor.

People's Conference leader Sajjad Lone has also written to the J&K governor staking claim to form the government. In his letter, Lone has cited the support of the BJP and more than 18 other elected members of the J&K state legislature.

Minutes after J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the Assembly on Wednesday, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah questioned the timing of the dissolution.

Commenting on the political developments in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad said:

Calling the actions of Governor Satya Pal Malik to dissolve the Assembly "undemocratic and unconstitutional", Congress leader Saifuddin Soz said Mehbooba Mufti should move court to challenge the decision.

The J&K governor had a meeting with PM Modi and Amit Shah on Monday and Tuesday respectively, an NDTV report said, citing sources. On Wednesday, J&K chief secretary was also reportedly called to Delhi.

With the dissolution of the Assembly, elections are expected to be held in Jammu and Kashmir within six months. The state will be placed under President's Rule next month, when the Governor's Rule comes to an end.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti took to Twitter to slam the J&K governor after he dissolved the state's Assembly, saying that the "very idea of a grand coalition" gave him "jitters".

J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina welcomed the decision taken by Governor Satya Pal Malik to dissolve the Assembly.

Speaking about the dissolution of the J&K Assembly on Wednesday, rebel PDP MLA Imran Ansarti said:

The Election Commission will examine whether the model code of conduct can be imposed in Jammu and Kashmir, after Governor dissolves Legislative Assembly, reported ANI.

Bharatiya Janata Party State President Ravinder Raina told news agency ANI that the BJP has called for an important meeting with all its MLAs on 22 November.

In a telephonic interview with news channel CNN News18, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said it was his responsibility to save Jammu and Kashmir from 'the mess'. Malik said an alliance of parties with different ideologies cannot be given the right to form a government in the state.

Jammu and Kashmir's Peoples Democratic Party leader Rafi Ahmad Mir told CNN News18 that the party is yet to decide on approaching the courts. He also told the news channel that the party will be meeting today to take decisions on 'many' matters.

On the other hand, National Conference Provincial President Nasir Sogami described the Governor’s action to dissolve the state Assembly as the demolition of democracy. He also said that NC is prepared to face the 'people's court' (elections), without the support of any other party.

Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik got back at former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's 'fax machine' jibe, saying that no employee was on the fax machine as it was Eid on the day he dissolved the state Assembly.

“On Eid, no employee will be near the fax machine. She (Mufti) should have approached me a day earlier, or on Wednesday morning,” he said in his defense.

When asked on how he released the official communication later in the day, he said that machines at the Governor’s house do not work some time. “Sometimes, water geysers also do not work at Raj Bhavan,” he told News18.

BJP’s National Secretary Ram Madhav, on Thursday said that the PDP and NC boycotted the local body polls in Jammu and Kashmir as they had ‘instructions from across the border’, he made the same claims regarding the PDP-NC alliance as well, saying the instructions might have come from across the border.

The elections in Jammu and Kashmir can be held before May and possibly before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat told NDTV.

Soon after BJP National Secretary Ram Madhav alleged that the instructions for the PDP-NC alliance might have come from across the border, NC chief Omar Abdullah hit back. Abdullah dared at Madhav to prove that his party boycotted the local body elections in the state and is working under the instructions of Pakistan.

Madhav then retracted his statement, saying he did not mean to offend or question Abdullah's patriotism. However, Abdullah was not taking any of it. He responded to Madhav’s tweet, keeping his challenge towards Madhav and his government to prove his words.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik told ANI that he is not in the favour of any government formed with underhand defection and horse-trading.

He also said that he has been receiving complaints of horse-trading for the past 15 days, and that MLAs are being threatened.

National Conference chief Omar Abdullah addressed the media on the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, where he said the Governor alleged horse-trading, money being exchanged. He said if the Governor has reports of money being exchanged, he should also know who was exchanging the money.

On having enough number of MLAs, he said:

He also said that this is the first time he has seen a fax machine become the a political player.

Abdullah has said his aim was never to rule, his aim was to save the dynasty.

Abdullah also questioned the Governor -- who has said that parties of different ideologies can't come together -- that if that’s the case, how did the BJP-PDP alliance happen in the first place?

Abdullah also hit back at Ram Madhav again, saying that Madhav has disrespected thousands of his colleagues who have died becasue they refused to work with Pakistan, keeping his challenge to Madhav to prove his words or apologise.

A meeting of Bharatiya Janta Party’s core group over dissolution of the J&K Assembly is underway in Jammu, ANI reported.

The meeting saw BJP State President Ravinder Raina and former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy CM Nirmal Singh in attendance.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while addressing a media briefing the media on the Centre's approval of the Allied and Health Care Professionals Bill was put up with the question of the J&K Assembly being dissolved.

The Finance Minister said that the issue was not on the Cabinet's agenda but we were briefed about it, ANI reported.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad hit out at BJP for the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, saying that the Centre should have dissolved the Assembly when the BJP withdrew support from PDP.

He also said that all this while BJP was trying to make their own government but were failing. When they saw that another government could be formed, they dissolved the Assembly.

PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday lashed out against BJP National Secretary Ram Madhav over his "Pakistan" remark saying that she was "shocked to see baseless allegations against mainstream parties" in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mufti further questioned if supporting the Centre was the sole criterion to become "nationalistic and patriotic", indicating that the MLAs of PDP and National Conference were labelled "anti-nationalistic" just because they had "enough integrity to stand up to your failed attempts of defection."

National Conference President Farooq Abdullah on Thursday slammed J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik, saying that "he has turned out to be another slave of the Centre".

Abdullah also slammed the labelling of the proposed PDP-NC-Congress alliance as a combination of "terror-friendly parties” by the BJP.

National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party’s decision to move to court against the dissolution of the House will prove to be a “blessing in disguise”, said Sajjad Lone, Peoples Conference Leader, in an interview to The Indian Express.

According to Lone, BJP-supported combination was in favour of a floor test because he’s confident he has the requisite numbers.

“It will be a blessing in disguise for us. I am confident they will not have the requisite numbers,” Lone told The Indian Express.

Peoples Conference Leader Sajjad Lone has stated that he is happy to have managed to get erstwhile arch rivals NC and PDP on the same page.

“If they (PDP) are so aggrieved they can go to the court but they will not because they don't have the numbers but we are happy that we got these dynastic parties together,” Lone told ANI.

“We staked the claim as we had the numbers. Had there been a floor test or had we been told to bring in the numbers, then that which is within the purview of the constitution would have happened,” People's Conference chief said.

Sajjad Lone, while addressing the media in Srinagar, alleged that if aligning with BJP is a crime, then it is Omar Abdullah who first committed this crime.

“If aligning with BJP is a crime, then it is Omar Abdullah who first committed this crime. He was once the poster boy of NDA. Madam Sahiba (Mehbooba Mufti) was also in power with them for 3 years. But when we do it, it's wrong,” he said.

Omar Abdullah responded to Satya Pal Malik’s comment on Saturday, in which the J&K governor said that PDP president and ex-chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, and NC vice president Omar Abdullah could have easily contacted him if they were serious about forming a government.

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL challenging the dissolution of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly by Governor Satya Pal Malik.

The bench was hearing a PIL filed by BJP leader Gagan Bhagat, who was an MLA before the Assembly was dissolved.