Twitter bonhomie on display.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly was abruptly dissolved by the Governor Wednesday night hours after the PDP staked claim to form a government with the backing of rival National Conference and the Congress followed by another bid from the two-member People's Conference which claimed the support of the BJP and 18 legislators from other parties.
Amid the political ramifications, there was some light-hearted banter about the Governor’s fax machine which seemed to have stopped working after the grand alliance idea was floated, or at least that’s what PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti thought.
She wrote: “In today's age of technology, it is very strange that the fax machine at HE Governor’s residence didn’t receive our fax but swiftly issued one regarding the assembly dissolution.”
This led Omar Abdullah to continue the newfound bonhomie and write: And I never thought I’d be retweeting anything you said while agreeing with you. Politics truly is a strange world. Good luck for the battle ahead. Once again the wisdom of the people will prevail.”
This led Mufti to suggest a new present for the Governor. She wrote: “Touche! On a lighter note, perhaps they should do away with fax machines and allow official communication via whatsapp. Or maybe we should just gift them a new one.”
Abdullah earlier even tweeted a GIF of the Governor's fax machine.
Even Sajjad Lone, who reached out to the Governor on Whatsapp, said he had trouble reaching the governor.
The dissolution was announced by Governor Satyapal Malik in a communique released by the Raj Bhavan.
The dissolution of the assembly, which was in suspended animation since June 19, marked the culmination of a day-long high-voltage political drama in which People's Democratic Party(PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti wrote to governor that her party, which has 29 MLAs, backed by the National Conference and the Congress with 15 and 12 legislators respectively intended to stake claim for formation of the government.
The collective strength of the three parties was 56, well above the required number of 44 for a majority in the 87-member assembly, Mehbooba, a former chief minister, said.
Things moved swiftly thereafter with Sajad Lone, leader of the People's Conference, which has one MLA besides him, also sending a Whatsapp communication to Malik from midair staking his claim for government formation with the support of the 25-member BJP and "more than 18 other elected members" whose names he did not provide.
The Governor, who had declared days ago that the assembly would not be dissolved, then lost no time in going for dissolution invoking the relevant sections of the state constitution.
The dissolution paves the way for a fresh elections in the state amid speculation that it could be held with the Lok Sabha polls due early next year.
The six-month tenure of the governor's rule ends on December 18 which will be followed by President's rule. The state assembly's tenure was till October 2020.
Governor's rule was clamped in the state on June 19 for a 6-month period following the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government headed by Mehbooba Mufti after the saffron party withdrew support. The state assembly was also kept in suspended animation so that political parties could explore the possibility of forming a new government.
In a series of tweets, Mehbooba said since the past five months, regardless of political affiliations, "we shared the view that the state assembly be dissolved immediately to avert horse trading and defections.
"Oddly enough our pleas fell on deaf ears. But who would have thought that the very idea of a grand coalition would give such jitters".
She also said in a lighter vein that "In today's age of technology, it is very strange that the fax machine at the Governor's residence didn't receive our fax but swiftly issued one regarding the assembly dissolution." Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said while the talks for formation of a popular government were in infancy stage, the BJP government at the Centre was so worried that they dissolved the state assembly.
"It is clear that BJP's policy is either we or nobody," Azad told PTI.
There was no immediate reaction from the BJP.
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah tweeted "JKNC has been pressing for assembly dissolution for 5 months now. It can't be a coincidence that within minutes of Mehbooba Mufti Sahiba letter staking claim, the order to dissolve the assembly suddenly appears." In a lighter vein, Omar also said "J&K Raj Bhavan needs a new fax machine urgently".
Omar was apparently referring to Mehbooba's letter to the Governor that was tweeted. "Have been trying to send this letter to Rajbhavan. Strangely the fax is not received. Tried to contact Governor on phone. Not available," she said.
Mehbooba staked the claim to form a government with the support of the Congress and the National Conference after the three parties put behind their differences in an apparent bid to preempt attempts by any other alliance to form a government with the backing of the BJP and some PDP rebels.
"You might have gathered from the media reports that the Congress and the National Conference have also decided to extend support to our party to form a government in the state....
"Since I am presently in Srinagar, it would not be possible for me to call on you immediately and this is to keep you informed that we would be seeking your convenience shortly to stake the claim for forming the government in the state," Mehbooba said in her letter.
This was followed by a letter from Lone while he was in flight from London to Delhi. It was sent on Whatsapp to the governor, in which he also sought claim to form the government.
"Following our telephonic conversation (which was made midair) regarding government formation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, I hereby formally stake claim for the government formation in the state with the support of the BJP and more than 18 other elected members of the J&K state legislature...," he said.
Lone claimed that he would submit the letter of support from the BJP legislature party and other members supporting the government headed by him as and when asked to do so.
Earlier in the day, senior PDP leader Altaf Bukhari, a businessman-turned politician, claimed that around 60 MLAs were supporting the proposed alliance in the 87-member House.
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