Srinagar: Ahead of Jammu and Kashmir assembly election results, the lieutenant governor’s power to nominate five members to the assembly has emerged as a sore point in the Union Territory.
J&K LG Manoj Sinha has flown to New Delhi where he is likely to attend meetings to discuss the scenarios that may emerge after the results for 90 seats are announced on Tuesday.
The J&K Reorganisation Act 2019, further amended in 2023, mentions the process of nomination of five members – two women, two from migrant community and one from POJK refugees – but is ‘unclear/silent’ on the issue of nominated members’ voting rights during “government formation or vote of no confidence”.
BJP’s Sunil Sethi said: “This law is very clear right from 2019. Political parties objecting to powers of nominated members have neither read the Constitution nor the J&K Reorganisation Act. If they have a problem with this, they should not have participated in elections.” He added that J&K is a UT and not a state anymore. “These political parties are day-dreaming about living in a state structure, which is no more as of now,” said Sethi. He likened J&K’s situation with Puducherry where nominated MLAs can vote during government formation. The decision has been upheld by the Supreme Court, he said.
Congress’ Ravindra Sharma said BJP is attempting to execute yet another fraud with democracy and mandate of people who have elected 90 representatives through voting exercise.
“Nomination of members has to be done with the aid and advice of council of ministers, so they cannot be nominated before government formation,” said Sharma, adding “BJP wants to change a majority into a minority through nominated MLAs”.
Senior advocate Zafar Shah, who was among the petitioners challenging the abrogation of Article 370 in Supreme Court, has termed it a ‘dicey situation’. “We have to understand that J&K is not like any other UT. The precedent here is different and law cannot be applied in mathematical form. So, there is a possibility of friction unless one side surrenders,” said Shah, adding, “Also we have to remember that assembly doesn’t exist as of now… Nominations cannot happen to a non-existent entity.” Another senior advocate Riyaz Ahmad Jan said that only LG can nominate members, but “so long the assembly is not constituted, members cannot be nominated”.