Jammu: Hinting that Governor's rule imposed two days back in Jammu and Kashmir may be for a brief spell, BJP today said it was required to "restore democracy" and that a stable government will soon be in place in the state which will work for all round development.
Addressing party workers in Poonch, state president of the party and MP from Jammu, Jugal Kishore Sharma said,"Government shall be in place soon and a huge task is ahead for all of us to provide equitable development for all the areas in the region."
Justifying imposition of Governor's rule, Union Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh said it was important "to restore democracy".
"Governor's rule does not mean that it will be there permanently, it is also a process of democracy. Sometimes wars are fought to restore peace in the same way sometimes governor rule is imposed to restore democracy," he said at a function organized by Panun Kashmir, an outfit of Kashmiri Pandits here.
In another event here, newly-elected BJP MLA from Billawar, Nirmal Singh said, "The party leadership is in touch with other parties and the channels of dialogue are open. We want to form a government with like minded parties who accept our ideology."
He held former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah responsible for Governor's rule in the state.
"As Omar Abdullah refused to continue as the caretaker CM, Governor's rule was imposed in the state which otherwise would have been imposed only after January 18," he told reporters.
J and K was placed under Governor's rule following failure of PDP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 28 seats, and BJP with 25 seats in the 87-member Assembly failing to cobble up the required numbers to take a shot at government formation. National Conference won 15 seats and Congress 12 in the results announced on December 23.
The decision was also prompted by Omar Abdullah who refused to continue as caretaker Chief Minister on the ground that the state needs a full-time administrator.
In Akhnoor, a senior Congress leader accused BJP of "hijacking" the agenda of Kashmir-based separatists to create political instability in the state.
"BJP is least interested in formation of government in the state, they just want to hijack the agenda of the Hurriyat Conference to create political uncertainties and instability in Jammu and Kashmir," Sham Lal Sharma said while addressing youth workers of the party.
"People voted for a change, let them now judge how their mandate is being humiliated. Despite having the requisite numbers they failed to form a government which resulted in the imposition of the Governor's rule in the state," he said.
BJP has compromised with the sentiments and aspirations of the people of the Jammu region, he said.
The Governor's report sent to Home Minister Rajnath Singh had contained some suggestions including the option of a spell of Governor's rule in the wake of no party getting the number required to form a government after the highly-fractured verdict in the Assembly elections.
After the election results were out neither PDP nor BJP could get the magic figure of 44 to stake claim to form a government.
BJP President Amit Shah had said in Vijayawada on Friday that his party was in talks with both the PDP and the NC to form the next government in the state. "Our talks are going on with the two parties in Kashmir...We are trying to form a BJP government in the state," he said.
