Governor Malik defends his decision to dissolve Jammu and Kashmir Assembly

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the Assembly with immediate effect considering four main aspects, including "extensive horse-trading" and the "impossibility" of forming a stable government by coming together of political parties with "opposing political ideologies", the Raj Bhavan said in a statement Wednesday night.

The assembly was abruptly dissolved by the Governor Wednesday night hours after the PDP staked claim to form a government with the backing of rival National Conference and the Congress, followed by another bid from the two-member People's Conference which claimed the support of the BJP and 18 legislators from other parties.

The dissolution was announced by the Governor in a communique released by the Raj Bhavan.

In a statement later, the Raj Bhavan said, "The Governor came to this conclusion based on the material available to him from multiple sources."

Citing the main reasons in four points, the statement said, "The impossibility of forming a stable government by the coming together of political parties with opposing political ideologies including some which have been demanding dissolution of the Assembly; whereas the experience of the past few years shows that with the fractured mandate that is there in the Assembly, it is not possible to form a stable government comprising like-minded parties. The coming together of such parties in a grouping is nothing but an attempt to gain power rather than to form a responsive government."

"Reports of extensive horse-trading and possible exchange of money in order to secure the support of legislators belonging to widely diverging political ideologies just to be able to form a government. Such activities are not healthy for democracy and vitiate the political process," it said.

The third reason cited is "serious doubts about the longevity of any such arrangement where there are competing claims of majority".

It added, "The fragile security scenario in the state of Jammu and Kashmir where there is a need to have a stable and supportive environment for security forces which are engaged in extensive anti-militancy operations and are gradually gaining control over the security situation."

"The Governor came to the conclusion that, in this background, he has satisfied himself that the best course of action is to dissolve the assembly so as to provide stability and security to the state and hold elections at an appropriate time so that a government with a clear mandate is duly formed," it added.