Centre revokes President's rule in Jammu and Kashmir, paves way to form govt

New Delhi: The President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir was revoked on Sunday, paving way for the formation of government and appointing Chief Minister in the union territory.

The Ministry of Home Affairs notified the order signed by President Droupadi Murmu at 10:27 PM. The union territory, which came into being in August 2019 after a bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, is getting an Assembly after five years of its existence.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 73 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019) read with articles 239 and 239A of the Constitution of India, the Order dated the 31st October, 2019 in relation to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall stand revoked immediately before the appointment of the Chief Minister under section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019," the notification read.

The move comes as the National Conference-Congress-CPI(M) alliance got a majority in the Assembly elections held in September-October. The NC has also got the support of four independents and one AAP MLA.

NC's Omar Abdullah is all set to be appointed the new Chief Minister, his second stint. However, this is the first time Jammu and Kashmir will have an Assembly with curtailed powers as it is an union territory.

Jammu and Kashmir has been under Governor's or President's Rule since June 2018 after the PDP-BJP government fell over differences between two partners. For the first six months as per the law, Governor's Rule was imposed in the state followed by the President's Rule.

In 2018, President's Rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after a gap of 22 years.

After special status was abrogated and the state was bifurcated into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh, the emergency provisions were subsumed into Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 along with provisions in the Constitution.