J&K Assembly dissolved: Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah slam governor; BJP says early polls are best option

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a dramatic development on Wednesday night when the Assembly was suddenly dissolved. The move came after three mainstream parties — PDP, National Conference, and Congress — formed an alliance to stake claim to form a government, followed by another bid from BJP-backed Peoples Conference.

Governor Satya Pal Malik drew flak from various political parties over his move. Though the PDP-NC-Congress criticised him and the Centre heavily, the BJP said it favoured polls at the earliest.

Here are some of the reactions on the issue:

'Idea of grand coalition gave jitters'

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said that her party had been demanding the dissolution of the Assembly for the past five months.

"Oddly enough our pleas fell on deaf ears. But who would have thought that the very idea of a grand coalition would give such jitters," she said in a series of tweets.

In my twenty six year old career as a politician, I thought I had seen it all! But like they say never say never! Nevertheless, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to @OmarAbdullah and @Ambikasoni4 ji for helping us achieve the seemingly impossible. 1/4

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 21, 2018

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said that the issuance of governor's order coming just minutes after Mufti's letter to him "can't be a coincidence".

JKNC has been pressing for assembly dissolution for 5 months now. It can’t be a coincidence that within minutes of Mehbooba Mufti Sahiba letter staking claim the order to dissolve the assembly suddenly appears. — Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 21, 2018

'Polls at earliest best option' The BJP claimed that PDP and Congress had contradictory stands on the dissolution and said the best option in Jammu and Kashmir is to have fresh Assembly polls at the earliest. "This Assembly cannot produce a stable government," it said in a series of tweets. It termed the proposed alliance of the three parties as a "combination of terror-friendly parties"

J&K needs a firm administration to deal with terrorism and not a combination of terror-friendly parties. — BJP (@BJP4India) November 21, 2018

BJP leader Ram Madhav sparked a separate controversy on Thursday after alleging that the PDP and National Conference "probably had fresh instructions from across the border (Pakistan) to come together and form the government". He later retracted his statement after clashing with Abdullah on Twitter.

'Governor's move unconstitutional'

Terming the decision to dissolve the Assembly as "unconstitutional, immoral and unethical", Congress leader Manish Tewari Thursday said it was a "murder of democracy".

Decision of J&K Governor is unconstitutional. After 03 parties NC-PDP-INC staked claim to form Govt without giving them A chance to form Govt & prove majority to dissolve assembly is MURDER OF DEMOCRACY. MUST BE CHALLENGED IN COURT ASAP. @MehboobaMufti @OmarAbdullah @Ambikasoni4 — Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) November 22, 2018

Dissolution of assembly in this manner is unconstitutional,immoral & unethical.A dangerous harbinger of things to come.Thank God founding fathers were wise enough not to provide for President ‘s rule at Centre? Shudder to think what could hv happened when BJP looses 2019 @BDUTT https://t.co/7G0t8oVpbM — Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) November 22, 2018

 'Gujarat model appealed to Malik' Congress leader P Chidambaram also took a swipe at Malik's decision to dissolve the Assembly.

The Westminster model of democracy is outdated. Like in all other matters, it is the Gujarat model that has appealed to the J&K Governor — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 22, 2018

'BJP doesn't care about Constitution'

Veteran politician Sharad Yadav on Thursday called the dissolution of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly a "murder of democracy".

"Democracy has been murdered in Jammu and Kashmir by dissolving the aAsembly. I oppose and condemn the dissolution," said Yadav, currently heading his political outfit Loktantri Janata Dal, which he formed after parting ways with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led janata Dal (United) in 2016.

Yadav said the BJP neither cares for the Constitution nor it has any respect for various institutions of the country.

"What is the meaning of an election when the people's mandate was to be butchered by dissolving the Assembly? Similarly there is no meaning of the local bodies polls when the major political parties did not participate in it," he added.

He said several things happening during the BJP's regime are against the democracy and mandate of the people. "People are fed up with the state of affairs in the country. I am unable to understand why the ruling party is not mending its way despite criticism of their actions by people from all walks of life," he added.

'Centre using governors as pawns'

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday described as Malik's action as "undemocratic and anti-people".

The governor had a constitutional obligation to allow an opportunity for the PDP to prove its claims of majority. However, it was not examined, Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

It is clear that the decision to dissolve the legislature, which had two more years left in its tenure, was taken when it became evident that a non-BJP government was going to be formed, he said.

He alleged that the whole affair can be only be viewed as a "political game orchestrated by the Central government using governors as pawns."

"The Jammu and Kashmir policy of the Central government is quite malevolent. The Centre is using the problems of Kashmir as a means for communal polarisation. These measures will only help alienate the people there," Vijayan said.

'Centre has worsened situation in state'

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) condemned the dissolution of the Assembly. "The action of the governor, dissolving the legislative Assembly, at the behest of the Centre, is an illegal and unconstitutional step," a CPM statement said.

"The governor has no business to decide that parties with 'opposing ideologies' cannot form a suitable government... All that the governor can do is to ask the leader who is staking claim with majority support to prove that majority on the floor of the House.

"By taking this authoritarian measure, the Narendra Modi government has further complicated and worsened the situation in the state," the statement said.

With inputs from agencies