Governor Malik's remark stirs hornet's nest in NC

Srinagar, Oct 9 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik's remark about the future mayor of Srinagar municipal corporation on Tuesday stirred up the hornet's nest in the regional National Conference (NC).

In an interview to the NDTV on Monday, Malik said Srinagar would soon have a foreign-educated mayor. The remark clearly alludes to one of the contestants in the ongoing Srinagar municipal corporation elections.

Reacting to Malik's remarks, the NC said on Tuesday: "J&K governor Satya Pal Malik's recent remark favouring a particular individual for the post of mayor of Srinagar is shocking and puts a big question mark on the impartiality of the governor's office".

"The ongoing election process is a smokescreen to hide the machinations of the governor's office to throttle the democratic institutions in the state," said a joint statement of senior NC leader, Mubarak Gul, MLA, Shamima Firdous, secretary, Irfan Shah, provincial vice president, Muhammad Syed Akhoon and Srinagar district president, Peer Afaq Ahmad. 

"The party is not against any person becoming the mayor, but the way governor has unequivocally expressed his intentions while talking to a private news channel by hinting towards a particular individual beforehand for mayor's post of Srinagar is what casts a shadow on the whole election process," the statement said.

"There is already a big question mark on the fairness of ongoing urban local bodies elections in the Valley. Adding to the confusion, the governor's remarks reveal that he has no reverence for the due process of elections," it said.

The statement said the ongoing poll process has already gone farcical and proven to be a damp squib because of the scant participation of people and candidates in the first phase of polling in the Valley.