Amit Shah wants President's rule extended in J&K; will there be polls by 2019-end?

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, June 28, moved a statutory resolution in the Lok Sabha to extend President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir for a period of six more months with effect from July 3. Shah also said that the Centre has started preparations and assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held by the end of this year.

Speaking at the Lower House of the Parliament, the BJP president said due to Ramzan and Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, preparations are underway to hold assembly elections by the end of 2019.

According to Shah, the BJP government has done a lot to end terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the law and order situation in the state has improved.

Shah tabled the resolution, saying that the Election Commission had agreed to postpone the Assembly elections in the state and that these will be held after the Amarnath Yatra. "It is not possible to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir now. The Election Commission has decided to conduct the elections by the year end," Shah said in Lok Sabha.

He also added saying: "For the past several decades, the elections have not taken place in the state during these months."

Shah's proposal to extend President's rule in Jammu and Kashmir was opposed by K Premachandran of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Congress's Manish Tiwari. Both Premachandran and Tiwari said that if the Lok Sabha elections could be held now, so can the Assembly elections.

Amit Shah visited Jammu and Kashmir for two days (June 26-27) for the first time after taking over as the Union Home Minister to review the security situation ahead of the upcoming Amarnath Yatra and development works in the state. Shah also visited the residence of slain J&K police officer Arshad Ahmad Khan in Srinagar who was killed during a fidayeen attack on a CRPF patrolling party in South Kashmir.