J&K under Governor’s rule till Mehbooba swearing-in
Arteev Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, January 8
Jammu and Kashmir is set to go under Governor’s rule, with PDP president Mehbooba Mufti not prepared to be sworn in as Chief Minister till the mourning period for her father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who died as Chief Minister, is over.
Legally, the PDP-led coalition government, in which the BJP is a partner, had become defunct and the state Cabinet had ceased to exist following the death of the Chief Minister.
The four-day mourning period will last till Sunday. The swearing-in could take place on Monday.
“There is no government at this point of time while the state Cabinet also ceases to exist with the unfortunate death of the Chief Minister,” Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Secretary, State Law Department, told The Tribune.
Raj Bhavan sources said the Governor has written to Mehbooba Mufti and the state BJP chief asking them to make their respective positions clear on government formation.
“Besides being in touch with the leadership of the coalition government partners, Governor N. N. Vohra has also addressed letters by fax to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and state BJP chief Sat Pal Sharma to urgently inform him about their respective positions regarding formation of the new government,” a Raj Bhavan spokesman said.
Sources said the PDP and BJP were yet to formally convey to the Governor, as per constitutional requirement, about their decision as to who would be their next person for the Chief Minister’s post.
The Law Secretary said the constitutional crisis would be over only after the new Chief Minister was administered oath of office by the Governor.
“It will be the same procedure of installing a new government in the state. As per the reports emerging from various quarters, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is expected to replace her father as the next Chief Minister of the state. For this, the PDP legislature party will have to elect her as its leader. Thereafter, they will have to send a letter to the Governor claiming a majority in the 87-member Legislative Assembly,” Mir said.
Mehbooba Mufti is currently not a member of the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council and she will have to get elected either to the Legislative Assembly or be nominated as member of the Council within six months if she takes over as Chief Minister.
Mir said the PDP’s letter would have to be accompanied by a letter of support from its alliance partner BJP, stating its readiness to support the party (PDP) and its leader, Mehbooba Mufti, for the Chief Minister’s post.
In the 87-member legislative Assembly of J&K, the PDP is the single largest party with 28 seats, followed by the BJP with 25. The principal opposition National Conference has 15 seats, while the Congress’ number is 12. Others have seven seats and they include two seats of Sajjad Lone’s Peoples Conference, one of Peoples Democratic Front (S), and three Independent.
To form the government, a party requires a minimum of 44 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
A PTI report quoted senior lawyer Sheikh Shakeel as saying, “If Mehbooba Mufti insists on not taking oath till the end of mourning for her father on the fourth day (Sunday) as per Islamic traditions, the Governor will have no option but to impose a short spell of Governor’s rule.”
“The Governor will have to use extraordinary powers vested in him by the Constitution to keep the Assembly in suspended animation till he works out the possibility of a democratically elected government in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Under the J&K Constitution, the Governor can assume the reins of the state for six months in case of a constitutional crisis whereas President’s rule is imposed in other states in the country.
