Even Water Heaters Don’t Work in Raj Bhavan: J&K Governor on Fax Machine Fiasco

Srinagar: Amid the power play in Jammu and Kashmir, a ‘broken’ fax machine in Raj Bhavan took centre stage in the political drama as Mehbooba Mufti’s letter staking claim to form the government got lost somewhere in transmission.

Taking jibes at Governor Satya Pal Malik, Mufti tweeted fax machines should be done away with altogether and official communication should be done via WhatsApp while her unlikely alliance partner Omar Abdullah said the Raj Bhavan needs a new fax machine urgently.

Now, the Governor has come on record on why the high-priority fax never reached him, telling News18 that he and other staff was not available on Wednesday as it was a holiday for Eid. “On Eid, no employee will be near the fax machine. She (Mufti) should have approached me a day earlier, or on Wednesday morning,” he said in his defense.

When pressed further on how he then released the official communication later on Wednesday night, he said that machines at the Governor’s house do not work some time. “Sometimes, water geysers also do not work at Raj Bhavan,” he told News18.

Mufti was on Wednesday forced to tweet out her party's claim to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir after the fax machine at the Raj Bhavan reportedly "refused" to accept her request.

She later expressed surprise at not being able to get through, giving rise to conspiracy theories. "In today's age of technology, it is very strange that the fax machine at the Governor's residence didn't receive our fax but swiftly issued one regarding the assembly dissolution," she tweeted, adding that BJP got "jitters" over the very idea of a grand coalition.

Both Mufti and Abdullah also exchanged a round of banter, posting memes on the issue on a lighter note.

Her political rival Sajad Lone had also professed his inability to send a letter claiming the support of the BJP and 18 other MLAs for forming the next government in the state. He, however, used a different Internet application – WhatsApp - to get his message across to the Governor.