Just a few hours after the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew its support to the coalition government of Jammu and Kashmir, leading to its collapse, a proclamation was issued by the state Governor N N Vohra that has formally brought the state under his rule.
On Wednesday, Vohra issued the proclamation to impose Governor’s rule in the state after obtaining concurrence from the President Ram Nath Kovind. The president is traveling in South America and from there he gave his assent to the imposition of governor’s rule. “When the Governor sent the proposal for imposing Governor’s rule on Tuesday evening, the President was already in transit from Athens, Greece to Suriname. As soon as he touched down in Paramaribo, he signed the recommendation giving his assent to Governor’s rule in J&K,” said an official.
Soon after obtaining the President’s nod, the Governor issued the proclamation under section 92 of Jammu and Kashmir Constitution to vest all the powers and functions of the state with himself.
Vohra had recommended the imposition of Governor’s rule after all the major political parties expressed their inability to form a government in the state.
Before sending the recommendation, Vohra consulted the leaders of PDP, National Conference, BJP and Congress to assess whether any of them was in a position to form government in the state.
In a dramatic turn of events, the BJP pulled out of the alliance with the PDP, citing that it has become impossible to continue in the government in view of the growing radicalism and militancy in the state.
The J&K constitution provides for six months of Governor’s Rule before imposition of the President’s Rule unlike other states which directly see President’s Rule in similar circumstances.
This is the third time in the past three-and- a-half years when the state has come under Governor’s rule.
The state came under Governor’s rule on January 7, 2015 after the assembly election results on December 23, 2014 threw up a hung assembly with no party or combination of parties able to stake a claim to form a government. It again came under Governor’s rule after Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s death on January 7, 2016 following a stalemate between PDP and BJP over the government formation in the state.
It is the fourth time in Vohra’s tenure as Governor that he would be at the helm of affairs of Jammu and Kashmir.