Appointment of career politician as J&K governor can prove counter-productive: JKNPP

The JKNPP today claimed that the appointment of a career politician as Jammu and Kashmir governor could prove counter-productive for the state.

It also accused the BJP of using political governors to subvert democracy and forge "dirty" alliances in various states.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik will become the first career politician to be appointed to the position in the last 51 years, indicating a change in the strategy of the Centre which has so far relied on ex-babus to run show in the troubled state.

"The appointment of a career politician as governor here can prove counter-productive. We have accused the BJP of using the political governors in the past to subvert democracy and to forge dirty alliances in various states", Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), Chairman, Harsh Dev Singh told reporters here today.

Citing examples of Goa and Manipur, Singh alleged that the BJP by abusing the gubernatorial office formed "bizarre" coalitions by dishonouring the people's mandate.

"Likewise, in Meghalaya, which threw a fractured mandate in the elections, the impulsive BJP once again stood first in the 'queue' to tie the knot with NPP (National People's Party) and forged an unexpected alliance to form the government," he said.

Singh said having regard to the regional, religious and political sensitivities of a state such as Jammu and Kashmir, past governments at the Centre had always refrained from appointing political governors in the state.

They gave non-political governors for unbiased governance and to win over the trust of multifarious sectionsin the troubled state, he said.

During all these years only civil servants, diplomats, retired army generals and intelligence chiefs, and others, having no political affiliations were appointed as governors to insulate bureaucracy from political interference, the JKNPP leader said.

"Why did it appear to the Union government to appointment a political person as the governor of a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir at this crucial juncture is for the BJP to explain," Singh said