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Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday decided to quit his office rather than put a motion of confidence to vote in the state legislative assembly, which met here for a special session called by Governor N.N. Vohra to give Azad a chance to prove his majority.
Azad delivered a long speech in the assembly highlighting his achievements, focusing mainly on developmental works during the 31 months he led the multi-party coalition government in the state.
After ending his speech, Azad told the members: "I know your conscience says something else while your party whips ask you to do something else." After this, Azad requested Speaker Tara Chand to allow him to withdraw the motion of confidence tabled in the house to prove his numbers.
Agreement
"I am going to the Raj Bhavan to submit my resignation to the governor," Azad told waiting media persons outside the state legislature complex.
Azad had taken over as chief minister in November 2005 as per the terms of an alliance agreement between the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headed by former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.
The National Conference, which is the largest party in the 87-member legislative assembly, had issued a whip to its 24 members to vote against the motion of confidence.
The present political crisis started after Azad's largest coalition partner, the PDP with 17 members, withdrew support to the coalition government last week amid differences over the Amarnath land allotment row. The Congress has 21 members in the assembly and it was also supported by many of 16 independent members and the two legislators of the Communist Party of India-Marxist.
Options
Governor's dilemma
In the wake of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's decision yesterday to quit office, political focus in Jammu and Kashmir shifted to the state's Governor N.N. Vohra, who was exploring the alternatives.
Few options are available with the governor in Jammu and Kashmir, which has its own constitution unlike other Indian states. "The governor will now have to write to the leader of the largest single party in the 87-member assembly [the National Conference] whether they want to stake a claim to form the government in the state," said a political analyst here. However, the National Conference has already made its intentions clear that it was not interested in forming the government.
"We have already made it clear that we do not want to stake any claim to government formation," National Conference president Omar Abdullah sasid after Azad announced his decision to quit office. The National Conference's decision not to stake the claim has further narrowed the options available for Vohra.
"The governor cannot under the present circumstances ask Azad to continue as the care taker [chief minister] since he has already submitted his resignation to the governor," said a constitutional expert.
- IANS
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