Srinagar, December 29(KNB):Presidents rule in Jammu and Kashmir was approved by Lok Sabha on Friday, despite Opposition parties objecting the move and terming it as “unconstitutional.”
Union home minister Rajnath Singh passed the resolution after which the speaker Sumitra Mahajan allowed a brief discussion, saying that although it was already passed and adopted, she was allowing a discussion on it as a “special case”.
Initiating the debate, Shashi Tharoor of the Congress opposing the resolution, said that the state was put under governor’s rule without any floor test despite the fact that Congress, PDP and National Conference had come together to form the government.
Tharoor asked the home minister Rajnath Singh to share the reasons Malik cited for his action and also sought to know whether the governor gave reasons for the imposition of president’s rule in writing as required by the Supreme Court in the SR Bommai case.
Tharoor also objected to the governor’s rejection of the alliance as a tie-up of parties of ideological variance, saying he should not have arrived at a political determination and added that the earlier alliance of PDP and BJP was also a case of “unnatural marriage”.
CPI-M’s Muhammad Salim demanded establishment of a popular government in the state and hit out at central government of its “ill-thought and misleading policy” with regard to Jammu and Kashmir.
Saugata Roy of the Trinamool Congress also termed the governor’s decision as “arbitrary” and “unconstitutional,” and claimed that it propped up the rival alliance led by Sajjad Lone, who had the support of only two MLAs.
While, BJD’s Bhartruhari Majtab supported the resolution, and said that the governor’s rule in the state had become necessary and noted that its two main regional parties, the NC and PDP, boycotted the panchayat polls.
He further said that the assembly elections should be held in the state along with the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
AIADMK’s P Venugopal expressed his party’s opposition to the imposition of governor’s rule as a matter of principle and asked the Centre to explain the reasons for taking such an “extreme” step.
Supriya Sule of the NCP said it is not the time for bullets in the state and called for holding elections there.
Intervening in the debate, minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh explained the political situation in the state that led to the imposition of President’s Rule.(KNB)
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