Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Satyapal Malik, has shifted the blame for the dissolution of the state Assembly onto Peoples’ Conference leader, Sajad Lone, accusing him of wanting to ‘indulge in horse-trading’. In an interview with senior Supreme Court advocate and Rajya Sabha member, Kapil Sibal’s YouTube channel “Dil Se,” Malik asserted that the decision was his own and not influenced by the BJP government.
According to Malik, the BJP wanted him to invite Sajad Lone to form the government. However, Lone reportedly didn’t have the required MLAs and suggested he could secure a majority in a week. Malik, sensing potential horse-trading, refused, stating, “This is not my job, and I will not do it.”
Malik defended his decision to dissolve the assembly, emphasizing that it was to prevent horse-trading. Despite acknowledging Mehbooba Mufti’s majority, he claimed that other parties feared losing members to such trading, prompting him to dissolve the assembly.
Responding to Mufti’s claims on November 21, 2018, Malik argued that while she had the majority, she failed to follow the proper procedure for government formation. He stated, “They are not made on Twitter. She called for no meeting, there was no proposal, there was no formal support from Farooq Abdullah. Farooq was in Delhi and he said they would take a call on the matter the following day. The support that her party had was not explicit and formalized. She did not follow the proper norms for staking claim to government formation.”