Srinagar, July 31: Jammu and Kashmir will get a new Governor as the Centre has decided not to continue with NN Vohra, a media report claimed on Tuesday.
Quoting sources NDTV said that the search is on for a new face and one of the contenders is former home secretary and current Comptroller and Auditor General Rajiv Mehrishi.
On June 20, soon after BJP ended its coalition government with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the state of Jammu and Kashmir came under Governor’s rule.
“Sources said the Centre and Vohra do not see eye to eye on the formation of a new government in Jammu and Kashmir. The Centre is keen on it, but Vohra, who had handled the state four times between governments, is not ready to comply,” the report said.
“At this late stage he is not ready to accommodate certain decisions,” NDTV quoted a senior functionary of the home ministry as saying.
The official said Vohra does not want to become another Jagmohan. In 1984, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had asked sitting governor BK Nehru to remove the Farooq Abdullah government. When he resisted, he was replaced by Jagmohan, who made it possible for GM Shah to become the new Chief Minister of the state, NDTV reported.
The trigger for the Centre’s decision, however, was a disagreement over Article 35A of the Constitution. The article which allows the state government to define who is a permanent resident of the state and provide them with special privileges is an extremely sensitive issue for Kashmiris, who see it as a matter of self-determination, the report mentioned.
The Centre also feels a new Governor would be able to handle the situation in a more effective manner as security forces step up the anti-terror operations. The unified command for security forces under former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had virtually collapsed. The new Governor will have a clear mandate from the Centre to revive the command and control structure. The new governor will also have an assurance of a long tenure, sources said, NDTV reported.
