On the issue of dissolution of Legislative Assembly, former Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Satyapal Malik shifted the blame on Peoples’ Conference leader, Sajad Lone, and his ambition to ‘indulge in horse-trading’.
In an interview with senior Supreme Court advocate and Rajya Sabha member, Kapil Sibal’s YouTube channel “Dil Se”, Malik said that the decision to dissolve the assembly was his own and not on the diktats of the BJP-government. Though he stood by it, he was tight-lipped about the question of constitutional legality of the assembly dissolution.
The former Governor added, “My own assessment is that they (BJP) wanted that I should invite (Sajad) Lone to form the government. I asked Lone. He didn’t have even six MLAs. But he said that if you let me take over, I can provide you the majority in one week…… I sensed there would be major horse-trading if I allowed that. I told him, this is not my job and I will not do it.”
Malik reiterated that his decision to dissolve the assembly was an attempt to stop any horse-trading. Though he admitted that Mehbooba Mufti had the majority, he said that “several parties were keen that the assembly should be dissolved because they feared that their party members would be weaned away in an attempt of horse-trading. There was increasing threat…….. which is why I dissolved the assembly.”
On Mehbooba Mufti’s claims on November 21, 2018, hours before the dissolution, that they have the numbers to form the government, Malik said that the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) leader did not follow the due process.
“Mehbooba had the majority but she faltered in the procedure to stake claim for government formation. They are not made on Twitter. She called for no meeting, there was no proposal, there was no formal support from Farooq Abdullah. Farooq was in Delhi and he said that they would take a call on the matter the following day. The support that her party had was not explicit and formalized. She did not follow the proper norms for staking claim to government formation.” [KNT]
