Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Governor Satya Pal Malik on November 27 triggered a new political controversy saying that the Centre would have wanted him to make Sajad Lone the chief minister of the state, but he didn’t do that as he did not want to go down in history as a dishonest man.
J&K Governor Malik while addressing students of the ITM University said, “If I’d turned towards Delhi, I would have had to invite Sajad Lone to form the government and history would have seen me as a dishonest man. That is why I closed that door. Those who want to speak ill of me, they can. But I am convinced that whatever I did was correct.”
People’s Conference party leader Lone had staked the claim on the formation of the J&K Government in alliance with the BJP after a coalition of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference (NC) and Congress approached Governor Malik to stake their claim.
After the two coalitions approached the governor to form the government in the state, he announced the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
The PDP, NC and Congress termed the decision by the governor as “undemocratic and unconstitutional”; the BJP had backed his decision, saying it was in the best interest of the state.
