'Centre may appoint new Jammu and Kashmir governor after Amarnath yatra'

Former deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Kavinder Gupta on Wednesday said the Centre may appoint a new Governor in the state after the Amarnath yatra.

Speaking to ANI, Gupta said, "It's a routine matter (appointing new Governor). The Central Government will see to it. The decision on this might be taken after Amarnath Yatra."
The yatra, which starts on June 28, will continue for two months.

Currently, N N Vohra, who was appointed as a governor in the state in June 2008 and was given a fresh term in 2013, is among the few governors appointed by the UPA government to have continued in his position in the BJP-led NDA dispensation.

Gupta further stated that no new government will be formed anytime soon in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is working on something in connection with the ongoing issue in Jammu and Kashmir, the former deputy chief minister added.

"I don't think a new government will be formed anytime soon. Uncertainties are there, but we are working on something and people will get to know about it," he said.

Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind approved the imposition of Governor's rule in Jammu and Kashmir, with an immediate effect.

Yesterday, Governor Narinder Nath Vohra forwarded his report to the President of India for the imposition of Governor's Rule under Section 92 of the Constitution.

This came after Mehbooba Mufti resigned as Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Minister following the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) exit from its alliance with the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Mufti said that the basic motive of the alliance was "reconciliation, dialogue with the people of Kashmir, promoting confidence-building measures and good relationships with Pakistan."

The BJP's decision apparently came after its chief Amit Shah held a meeting with the party's Jammu and Kashmir cabinet ministers.

Citing examples of the growing acts of "terrorism, violence and radicalisation" in the state over the past few years, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, while addressing a press conference in the national capital, said that the party was left with no other option, but to discontinue its alliance with the PDP.

The BJP and PDP formed a coalition government in 2015 after the state elections threw up a hung assembly. However, both of them were ideologically divided on a variety of issues.

The BJP had 25 seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, while the PDP had 28.

This will be the fourth time in the last 10 years that a Governor's rule is imposed in Jammu and Kashmir.

(ANI)