Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said the Centre is ready for assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir. The Modi government will provide maximum security forces for the state polls, he added.

Replying to a discussion in the Rajya Sabha today (January 3) on statutory resolution on proclamation issued by President in relation to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 35 of the Constitution of India, Rajnath Singh said though the Election Commission is responsible to conduct polls, the Centre is ready to provide maximum security forces to it.

Governor’s rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir on June 20. It was followed by president’s rule on December 19. The proclamation of president’s rule was passed by the Rajya Sabha following the discussion and the minister’s reply.

When Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress asked whether the Centre is ready for elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajnath Singh said, “The (central) government will not have any problem if the Election Commission wants to conduct polls there.”

Rajnath Singh sought suggestions from all political parties and said the government is ready to accept them in order to restore peace in the state. “I am ready to accept all suggestions and move forward. But it would not be proper to say that we are responsible for the current situation in the state,” he added.

Rajnath Singh was referring to the charge of the opposition leaders that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was responsible for the state of affairs in the border state.

He said governor’s rule followed by president’s rule has been imposed on several occasions in the past and it has not happened for the first time.

He reminded that under the Congress, the state was under president’s rule continuously for six years. “Our intention should not be doubted. There is no conspiracy involved from our side,” he said refuting the opposition’s charge.