Ram Madhav surpassing constitutional authorities: NPP
Jammu: A day after BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said his party has decided to continue with the governor rule in Jammu and Kashmir for some more time, National Panthers Party Thursday accused him of trespassing into the domain of constitutional authorities.
The continuance or revocation of governor rule is the prerogative of constitutional authorities including the President of India and the state governor and it was not for the general secretary of a political party to take a decision on it,” NPP chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh said.
On the sidelines of a party function in Kathua district, Madhav told reporters Wednesday that the governor’s rule would continue in the state till the middle of December and what happens next would be discussed then.
He made the remark in reply to a question on possible proposal to dissolve the state assembly.
“Such announcements provided yet another example of subversion of the constitution by the BJP. He (Madhav) had no role to play in the conduct of the municipal and panchayat elections or other policy matters of the state which fell within the domain of governor and his team of advisors, he said.
Cautioning the BJP general secretary to stay within his limits , Singh said the Constitution cannot be allowed to be held hostage to the political whims of a particular party .
Asserting that the governor rule had no place for political adventurism and incursions, Singh said the BJP’s undue interference in the governance of the state under the tutelage of Madhav was totally “unwarranted and unconstitutional”.
He called upon the governor to instruct the administration to act in the best interests of the state without bowing to the blackmail” by the BJP, which, he said, has lost the mandate to interfere in the policy matters of the state.
He accused the BJP of making ambiguous statements and giving confusing signals to give a false impression about re-installation of the collapsed government .
Accusing the Centre of keeping the state assembly in suspended animation “in blatant defiance of the constitutional provisions, norms, precedents and set protocols”, Singh appealed to the President of India to intervene in the matter and uphold the Constitution and its mandate.
The Central government is trying to rule the state through proxy and has deputed Madhav for the purpose who is blatantly interfering in the affairs of the state. Madhav did not only poke his nose in the internal functioning of the state during the BJP-PDP rule but has managed to penetrate into the present administrative set up as well and is frequently seen holding meetings with the Governor and other bureaucrats.
A general impression is being conveyed to the public that Madhav is acting as de facto chief minister of the state with MLAs too being allowed to exercise their normal functions despite the assembly having been suspended in the state, he said.
He appealed to the governor to ensure immediate dissolution of the assembly.
The mandate of the Constitution must prevail in view of no political party being able to form the government in the state. Any delay is fraught with the dangerous portends of increased attempts of horse trading, given the Machiavellian skills of the opportunist BJP, the NPP leader said. (PTI)
Press Trust of India
