Under the constitution the council of ministers has ceased to exist in Jammu and Kashmir after the death of chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Even General Administration Department (GAD) has removed the names of the council of ministers from its website.
People's Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has decided against taking the oath-of-office as the next chief minister of the state before the end of the mandatory mourning period of four days, fueling speculations about the possibility of governor's rule for brief period.
Under the constitution the council of ministers has ceased to exist in Jammu and Kashmir after the death of chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Even General Administration Department (GAD) has removed the names of the council of ministers from its website.
Amid government vacuum, Jammu and Kashmir governor NN Vohra shot off letters to Mehbooba and state BJP chief Sat Paul Sharma urging them to clarify their position on the formation of new government.
"Besides being in touch with the coalition government partners, governor NN Vohra has addressed letters to Mehbooba Mufti, President PDP and Sat Paul Sharma, President BJP, to urgently inform him about their respective positions regarding formation of the new government," a Raj Bhawan spokesman said.
The development follows Mehbooba's decision not to take the oath of office till the four days mourning period is over. PDP leaders even favored brief governor's rule rather than compelling Mehbooba to take oath in a hush-hush manner.
"We have decided not to do anything during these four days. Mourning period in Islam is also for four days. When food is not cooked in the house how can you think of other things? There will be no constitutional crisis. At the most there will be governor rule. How does it matter? There is a leader who has died and there is father who has died", Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, senior PDP leader who was holding the portfolio of works minister in Mufti Mohammad Sayeed led cabinet, told dna.
BJP president Sat Paul Sharma told dna they too are in mourning and will take the decision soon. "We too are in mourning. Once this period is over we will sit and discuss", he said
Top Supreme Court lawyer and senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig said there is no constitutional crisis in the state but there are constitutional technicalities.
"Normally the government should be formed in one day. Traditionally governor has to send report to the President who will then send it to the cabinet. It will be processed by cabinet then decision will be taken. If they find it (government formation) will take more days then they will impose governor's rule. Governor's rule is not a crisis but an alternative for an interim period," said Baig, a former deputy chief minister who is currently Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla.
Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Law Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, told dna that there is no time frame (for oath taking ceremony) in the state. "There is no fixed time frame. By the evening something will happen", he said.
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