Srinagar: The political impasse in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday took a new turn with Omar Abdullah asking Governor N N Vohra to relieve him as caretaker Chief Minister of the state.
He said the state needed a full-time administrator to deal with the situation along the border with Pakistan.
Omar met state Governor N N Vohra in Delhi on Wednesday night soon after his return from London after a 12-day visit to his ailing parents and conveyed to him his request.
“Just to confirm I did meet Gov Vohra sahib last night and ask him to relieve me as caretaker CM. I had agreed to stay temporarily,” Omar tweeted on Thursday.
He was asked to continue as caretaker Chief Minister on December 24 after his resignation in the wake of defeat of his party, National Conference (NC), in the Assembly poll on December 23.
Omar said he had assumed government formation would be a matter of week or 10 days.
“Today we seem even further away from that goal than we were 10 days ago,” he said.
“Given the situation on the border with 10,000 displaced, the hardships of winter & the continuing need for relief for flood affected, I believe the interests of the state will only be served by a full time administrator & not a caretaker with no mandate to govern,” he said in a series of tweets.
He also needled arch-rival PDP to say it was for that party to “explain to the people that with 28 MLAs and offers of support from 2 other parties, why the state has central rule.”
NC and Congress had offered support to PDP. NC could manage only 15 seats. PDP emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats followed by BJP with 25 in the 87-member House. Congress won 12 seats.
Following the hung verdict, BJP has been in touch with both NC and PDP for government formation but nothing concrete has emerged so far to break the deadlock.
NC does not appear to be in favour of joining hands with BJP and PDP is struggling to convince its cadres for a tie up with the saffron party.
The new Government is required to be constituted before January 19 when the term of the current Assembly expires failing which Governor’s rule looks inevitable. Omar’s decision means such a rule may have to be imposed earlier.
The Governor, according to the sources, will now be submitting a report to the President in which he may recommend a spell of Governor’s rule to avert a Constitutional breakdown.