Jammu and Kashmir Governor Narinder Nath Vohra has appointed Pervez Dewan and Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, both former IAS officers, as his advisors to run the administration after PDP and BJP said they need more time for government formation.
The Governor has also constituted a State Administrative Council with himself as its chairman and the newly appointed advisors as its members to dispose of administrative cases in a time-bound manner. The state Chief Secretary will function as the secretary of the State Administrative Council. The advisors shall exercise the powers of ministers under the J&K Government Business Rules, a government notification issued here said.
The Governor’s move was followed by demand for fresh polls by Omar Abdullah of National Conference. The former Chief Minister of the state said no immediate resolution of the political crisis was in sight and mid-term polls were the only option to end the impasse. National Conference and Congress both want mid-term polls as they believe they would benefit from the People’s Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s failure to keep afloat their coalition.
The PDP, meanwhile, said on Friday that government would be formed only after coalition partner BJP gave assurance that the “agenda of alliance” will be implemented in letter and spirit. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has sought confidence building measures (CBMs) in the region, adding to the pressure on the BJP which does not want to be out of power in J&K after only 10 months. CBMs in the region will include talks with Pakistan and the separatists. “Such demands have made the task of forming of fresh coalition government more difficult for us,” said a state BJP leader.
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