THREAT OF TRANSFER REMAINS, SAYS J&K GOVERNOR SATYA PAL MALIK
Says had he looked towards Delhi (Centre), he would have gone down in history as unscrupulous
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) governor Satya Pal Malik on Tuesday dropped hints that he may face transfer from the restive state. On Monday, Malik had said during his speech at the ITM University programme in Gwalior that had he looked to the Centre, he would have to install Sajjad Lone’s government in the state.
“Aur main jab tak yahan hoon, apne haath mein nahi, pata nahi kab tabaadla ho jaye. Naukri to nahi jayegi magar tabaadle ka khatra rehta hai. Magar main jab tak yahan hoon mein vishwas dilataa hoon, chithi bhar bhej dena mein zaroor phool chadane aa jaya karunga, (As long as I’m here, it’s not in my hands, I don’t know when I will be transferred from here. I will not lose my job but chances of a transfer always loom. But I assure you, whenever you call me, I will come here to pay my tributes),” Malik said during his short speech to mark the death anniversary of former minister and Congress veteran Girdhari Lal Dogra.
On Monday at an event at ITM University in Gwalior, Malik had said that had he listened to the Centre, Sajjad Lone would have been the CM of Jammu and Kashmir. He had said, “Had I looked towards Delhi (Centre), then I would have been forced to invite Sajjad Lone to form the government. Then I would have gone down in history as unscrupulous. But I ended the whole thing. Those who want to abuse me can do so, but I am convinced I did the right thing.”
However, on Tuesday, a Raj Bhavan spokesperson issued a clarification saying Malik, while taking the decision to dissolve the legislative assembly, acted in an ‘objective and impartial manner’.
“There was no pressure or any kind of intervention from the Centre and some news channels are misinterpreting the governor’s statement to convey that there was pressure from the central government,” the spokesperson said.