GuvtakeschargeinJ&K; armysaysopstocontinue
A DAY AFTER House under suspended animation; Vohra holds meets on security NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR
: Governor’s rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir and the assembly put under suspended animation on Wednesday, a day after the BJP surprised everyone by breaking a three-year alliance with the PDP, leading to the fall of the state government.
As governor NN Vohra held multiple meetings in Srinagar to discuss the security situation, army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said military operations in the Valley would continue. Governor’s rule was unlikely to have any impact on the ongoing operations, he told reporters in New Delhi.
“The President has approved imposition of governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect.” a home ministry spokesman said in New Delhi in the morning.
The Centre wanted terrorism to end and peace to prevail in Kashmir, home minister Rajnath Singh told media in Lucknow. “Our only aim is that terrorism should end and peace should prevail in Kashmir and our government will work keeping this in mind.” An official gazette notification issued in Srinagar said the governor had put the assembly under suspended animation. The six-year term of the House ends March 2021.
It is the fourth time in 10 years that the border state has been placed under central rule, with Vohra in control. He was named the governor in June 2008.
Vohra had on Tuesday night recommended governor’s rule in a report sent to the Rashtrapati Bhavan but by then President Ram Nath Kovind was airborne for a three-nation tour.
The contents of the report were sent to Suriname where Kovind was to land at 6.30pm (3am IST). The President sent his assent to home ministry within three hours.
After assuming charge as the head of the state administration, Vohra held meetings with top civil administration and police officials. Security preparations for the annual Amarnath yatra also figured in the discussions. Security forces have already been asked to maintain “highest level of alertness” and “synergy,” police said. The twomonth long pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre cave shrine of Amarnath commences on June 28.
In his meeting with chief secretary BB Vyas, Vohra identified the major tasks that needed to be dealt with on a time-bound basis.
While the break-up of the ruling coalition was celebrated in some parts of the Valley, some people were worried that the governor’s rule could worsen the situation in the state, which has seen a sharp rise in violence in the last few weeks.
As speculation mounted over the trigger for the BJP’s decision, party’s state president Ravinder Raina said deteriorating law and order situation was the main reason. The governor’s rule could be imposed to ensure restoration of peace and normalcy in the state.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, too, had cited “larger national interest...the deteriorating security situation” for the party’s pullout.