'History would have remembered me as a dishonest man if I made Lone CM'

Satya Pal Malik pays tribute to former minister and Congressman Girdhari Lal Dogra on his death anniversary, in Jammu. Pic/PTI

In remarks that can embarrass the Centre, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Governor Satya Pal Malik has said had he looked to Delhi, he would have had to install a government led by Sajjad Lone, and history would have remembered him as a "dishonest man".

Malik had abruptly dissolved the J&K Assembly last week after the PDP staked claim to form a government with the backing of rival NC and the Congress. This was followed by another bid from the two-member People's Conference led by Lone, which claimed the support of the BJP and 18 legislators from other parties.

During a pre-convocation academic conclave of ITM University in Gwalior on Saturday, he said, "Delhi ki taraf dekhta toh muje Lone ki sarkar banana padhti aur mein ithihas mein ek bayiman aadmi ke tor pe jana jata...(Had I looked to Delhi, I would have had to install a government led by Lone, and history would have remembered me as a dishonest man)."

"Therefore, I ended the matter. Whosoever wants to scold, can do so now but I am convinced that whatever I did, was right," he said in his address after noted journalist Ravish Kumar had pointed out in his speech about faulty fax machine.

The Governor also took a dig at the Congress, PDP and the National Conference and said that if they were so keen on forming the government, they could have come to Jammu a day earlier and met him.

"It was an Eid holiday and this is an auspicious day. Did they expect the Governor to stand by the fax machine and wait for their fax?" Malik said. "If PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and NC leader Omar Abdullah were serious about forming a government (by joining hands) in J&K, they should have called me up, or sent me a letter," he said. After dissolving the state Assembly, both NC Vice-President Omar Abdullah and PDP Chief Mufti expressed happiness and claimed that this was what they wanted, Malik said.

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