Had I looked to Delhi, I would have had to install Lone-led government in J-K: claims Malik

In remarks that could embarrass the Centre, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said had he "looked to Delhi", he would have had to install a government led by Sajad Lone, a claim which the opposition said vindicated its charge he was under pressure to put in place a "BJP-supported government".

There was no immediate reaction from the Centre or the BJP to the claim made by Malik, who said history would have remembered him as a "dishonest man" if he had asked Lone, the leader of the People's Conference, to form the government.

But the chiefs of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and National Conference --Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, both former chief ministers--complimented the governor for not taking "instructions" from Delhi thereby stopping the installation of a government of the "BJP and its proxies".

Malik abruptly dissolved the J and K Assembly on the night of November 21 after the PDP staked claim to form a government with the backing of arch rival NC and the Congress. Mehbooba claimed the support of 57 MLAs in the 87-member Assembly.

This was followed by another bid from the People's Conference which claimed the support of the BJP and 18 legislators from other parties. The BJP had 25 MLAs while the strength of the People's Conference was 2.

"Delhi ki taraf dekhta toh muje Lone ki sarkar banana padhti aur mein ithihas mein ek bayiman aadmi ke tor pe jata...(Had I looked to Delhi, I would have had to install a government led by Lone, and history would have remembered me as a dishonest man)." said Malik during a pre-convocation academic conclave of ITM University in Gwalior on Saturday.

"Therefore, I ended up the matter. Whosoever wants to scold, can do so now but I am convinced that whatever I did, was right," he said in his address after noted journalist Ravish Kumar in his speech referred to the faulty fax machine at Raj Bhavan in Jammu on a day of fast paced political developments last Wednesday.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said the more the Governor tries to justify his decision to dissolve the assembly the more he is "tying himself up in his knots".

The action by the governor was nothing short of a "command performance", Tiwari said, alleging he did it on the "instructions of Delhi".

"The Governor of J&K has done long term damage to India's interest in J&K. That is a reality which unfortunately will have implications in the future also," he told reporters in the national capital.

"So, what Governor Satyapal Malik is trying to do is really emulate his masters in Delhi who have done a Phd in flip-flop, U-turns, somersaults and the reality is that NDA-BJP Government has no policy towards J&K."
"Leaving aside the fax machine fiasco, good to see that governor Sahib refused to take dictation from Delhi, rather opted for dissolution of assembly. This could be unprecedented, given the story of democracy in the state."