Shadow Correspondent
Jammu,July 21;
Expressing reservations over the prolongation of the suspended Assembly in J&K, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP observed that such indefinite suspension was violative of the mandate of constitution and existing precedents. He said that despite the lapse of more than a month from the date of suspension of Assembly, no political party or combination of parties had staked claim to form the govt with rumour mills churning overtime giving rise to political instability in the state. With reports of horse trading, allurements of MLAs and other unethical practices for formation of govt hitting headlines every other day in the state, an atmosphere of uncertainty had been created which did not augur well for the health of a sensitive state like J&K. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
Not only was the media buzz with the reports of political defections on a regular basis but the erstwhile CM Mehbooba Mufti too, pointed Mr. Singh, had complained of money and muscle power being used to lure MLAs to form govt by hook or crook. He said that speculations were rife in the public and social media about floor crossing by several MLAs amidst allurements and enticements held out to them. While expressing scepticism over the political fate of the state, Mr. Harsh Dev maintained that none of the political parties were able to reach magic figure of 45 required to form the government and in such a scenario keeping the assembly in suspended animation only desecrates the sanctity of democratic institutions. He said in the wake of the political uncertainty, the central government was using political coercion to subvert the constitutional mandate.
Addressing the media, Harsh Dev Singh said that in view of no political party or alliance claiming to form the new government, the prolonged suspension of the State Assembly was illegal which defied all the precedents, constitutional provisions and plethora of judgments passed by the Courts in the past. “The constitution has been held hostage by the BJP through proxy for its unethical political interests. It could go to any extreme to satiate its greed for power which could be gauged by their dirty skill of converting members of other parties into ‘turncoats’ as witnessed in other states of late. Exploring undemocratic moves by unethical means for ascending the power throne is in its DNA”, deplored Harsh.
Having earned the dubious notoriety to subvert democracy in the past 4 years of its rule, he further said that the BJP had reportedly forged dirty alliances by offering enticements and other allurements to the smaller parties in the eastern states. “With both the parties, the BJP and INC unable to form the government on their own in Goa and Manipur after the elections last year, the Saffron party remained as the front runner in attracting the elected members from the smaller regional parties including the independents to form the bizarre coalition governments against the people’s mandate in both the states. Likewise, in Meghalaya which threw a fractured mandate in the elections this year, the impulsive BJP once again stood first in the ‘queue’ to tie the knots with NPP (National People’s Party) and forged an unexpected alliance to form the government. Earlier, the imposition of President’s rule in Arunchal Pradesh narrated the tragic saga of how the Governor was used as proxy on behest of Union government to create political impasse in the State”, Harsh elucidated.
Yash Paul Kundal State President Young Panthers was also present in the press conference.
