J&K Governor talks of threat of transfer, says it’s not in one’s hands

Srinagar, Nov 28: Governor Satya Pal Malik on Wednesday hinted that he might be shifted out of Jammu and Kashmir following his remarks that New Delhi wanted to see Peoples Conference leader Sajad Lone as Chief Minister.

Speaking at an event which marked the death anniversary of senior Congress leader Girdhari Lal Dogra, Malik said "As long as I'm here - it's not in my hands - I don't know when I will be transferred from here. I will not lose my job but the threat of transfer is there. As long as I'm here, I assure you people that whenever you call me I will come here to pay my tributes."

The comments assume significance because of the row over his statement on Saturday in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior.

In remarks that could embarrass the Centre, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik said had he "looked to Delhi", he would have had to install a government led by Sajad Lone, a claim which the opposition said vindicated its charge he was under pressure to put in place a "BJP-supported government".

There was no immediate reaction from the Centre or the BJP to the remark made by Malik, who said history would have remembered him as a "dishonest man" if he had asked Lone, the leader of the People's Conference, to form the government.

But a Raj Bhavan spokesperson in Jammu clarified that the governor while taking the decision to dissolve the J&K Legislative Assembly on the night of November 21 acted in an "objective and impartial" manner.

"There was no pressure or any kind of intervention from the Centre in the entire matter," he said in a press statement.

As the comments by Malik created a flutter, the chiefs of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and National Conference --Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, both former chief ministers--complimented the governor for not taking "instructions" from Delhi thereby stopping the installation of a government of the "BJP and its proxies".

Malik abruptly dissolved the Assembly after the PDP staked claim to form a government with the backing of arch rival NC and the Congress. Mehbooba claimed the support of 57 MLAs in the 87-member Assembly.