Need for compromise to establish civilian Govt in J&K - Early Times Newspaper Jammu Kashmir

news details

Need for compromise to establish civilian Govt in J&K

1/14/2015 11:15:03 PM

After the mainstream political parties,especially the BJP and the PDP, failed to forge an alliance for the formation of a Government in Jammu and Kashmir, following the latest Assembly poll having thrown up a hung House,the state continues to witness political instability.Neither the politicians nor the people in the state nor the administrative setup are in a position to guess which course the political phenomenon will take.
No doubt the imposition of Governor's rule has,to some extent,reduced the level of political instability, the central rule is not a final option.The Governor's rule can,as per the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir,last for a period of six months and if by that time the political parties fail to come to some sort of agreement for the formation of the Government the centre will have two options left.One,either place the state under President's rule as had been done in the middle of 1990 when the Pakistan sponsored proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir was at its peak resulting in largescale killing of civilians and destruction of private and Government infrastructure in the shape of damage to the school buildings,bridges and other Government installations.In such an atmosphere holding of fresh Assembly election was not deemed feasible when Dr Farooq Abdullah,who headed the Government at that stage,had resigned.Though Farooq Abdullah had stated that he resigned in protest against the appointment of Jagmohan as Governor of the state the real reason,according to political pundits,was his failure in running his Government smoothly in an atmosphere of chaos and crisis.
At that stage there was no other alternative to the imposition of President's rule in Jammu and Kashmir.This way the politicians belonging to the four mainstream political parties,the BJP,the PDP, the NC and the Congress,have to decide,within next six months, whether they were prepared to make compromises for the purpose of giving to people the benefit of an elected civilian Government or were prepared to opt for a prolonged spell of central rule.Another option open for the Governor is to dissolve the Assembly to be followed by a fresh election on the pattern of Delhi. In 2014 the Assembly election was held which threw up a hung House.However,with the Congress support from outside the Aam Aadmi Party chief,Arvind Kejriwal,was sworn in as Chief Minister.The Government led by him lasted for 49 days.When he resigned in February last year Delhi was placed under the Governor's rule.Since the Assembly was later dissolved when neither the Congress,nor the BJP nor the AAP staked claim for forming the Government.And to resolve political instability in the union capital three main political parties,the BJP, the AAP and the Congress agreed to resolve political instability by holding fresh Assembly election.That has opened the doors for fresh election which was to be held on February 7,2015.This way the Assembly election in Delhi is being held after a gap of 13 months. Yes,Jammu and Kashmir can experiment with yet another coalition Government.But this time the coalition rule can be something different from the one witnessed in the state in 2002 and 2008.In 2002 it was a Congress-PDP coalition Government but in 2008 the state had to bear with the NC-Congress coalition Government. The experiment in 2002 lasted for over five years against the tenture of six years because the PDP withdrew its support to the Government led by Ghulam Nabi Azad which resulted in the imposition of Governor's rule followed by fresh Assembly election. However,the NC-Congress coalition Government lasted for its full six-year term.So the Governor has the option to dissolve the Assembly and recommend to the Chief Election Commissioner that fresh Assembly election may be held in Jammu and Kashmir.Since after the election results were announced the PDP and the BJP have emerged as the two key players in the Government formation as the two together could muster the support of 53 MLAs which may help the two to give a stable Government they have to make compromises for giving to the people a stable and strong Government.
Yes,it is not easy for the PDP to join hands with the BJP as that may cause erosion in the vote bank of the PDP in the Kashmir valley.It is equally not easy for the BJP to join hands with the PDP which could result in erosion in the vote bank of the BJP in the region of Jammu.But the two have to do something. The PDP has another option to be part of the grand alliance.The BJP has the option of joining hands with the NC,though the latter has announced that it will not forge any alliance with the BJP.But these parties have to take a decision before the month of May otherwise the state may be placed under the President's rule or the Governor may go in for fresh Assembly election.

Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network

Comment on this Story

Like our Facebook Page