J&K political parties reject Delimitation Commission’s draft recommendations

Srinagar Dec 20: The political parties in J&K on Monday rejected the draft recommendations of the J&K Delimitation Commission proposing six new seats to Jammu region and only one in Kashmir valley.

J&K political parties reject Delimitation Commission’s draft recommendations The Delimitation Commission, set up to redraw the assembly seats of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, is learnt to have proposed six additional seats for Jammu region and one for Kashmir Valley in its ‘Paper 1’ discussed with its five associate members on Monday, wire agency PTI reported.

“The recommendations of the delimitation commission are totally unacceptable. They reek of bias. What a shock for those who believe in democracy,” People’s Conference President, Sajad Gani Lone wrote on Twitter shortly after the commission’s recommendations became public. Former J&K Chief Minister and NC vice president Omar Abdullah while terming the draft recommendations “unacceptable”, said the distribution of newly created assembly constituencies with 6 going to Jammu & only 1 to Kashmir “is not justified by the data of the 2011 census”. “It is deeply disappointing that the commission appears to have allowed the political agenda of the BJP to dictate its recommendations rather than the data which should have been it’s only consideration. Contrary to the promised “scientific approach” it’s a political approach,” Omar wrote in a tweet.
My apprehensions about the Delimitation Commission werent misplaced. They want to pitch people against each other by ignoring the population census & proposing 6 seats for one region & only one for Kashmir, ” PDP president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted while reacting to the commission’s draft recommendations. Pertinently, Mehbooba had on Saturday called the J&K Delimitation Commission “BJP’s commission” saying she had no faith in it.

“This commision has been created simply to serve BJPs political interests by dividing people along religious & regional lines. The real game plan is to install a government in J&K which will legitimise the illegal & unconstitutional decisions of August 2019,” Mehbooba said in a tweet. Altaf Bukhari led Apni Party also rejected the commission’s proposal it said “is outrightly unacceptable to us” while demanding Centre’s intervention.

“J&K Apni Party rejects the proposal of the delimitation commission.This is outrightly unacceptable to us. Apni Party demands a fair delimitation exercise without any bias,taking population and districts as the base. We strongly demand the GoI to intervene, ” the party said in a statement. Union Minister and senior BJP leader from Jammu, Dr Jitendra Singh on Monday said that J&K Delimitation Commission had “come out with a document that is objectively prepared”.

Singh made the remarks after a meeting of the commission in New Delhi in which NC MPs Dr Farooq Abdullah and retd Justice Hasnain Masoodi also participated.

The J&K Delimitation Commission was set by the government of India on March 6, 2020 and its associate members are National Conference MPs Farooq Abdullah and Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi besides Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh, and Jugal Kishore Sharma of the BJP.

“The Commission has come out with a document that is objectively prepared. All associated members regardless of parties appreciated work done by Delimitation Commission. NC members were also satisfied by parameters followed by the Commission,” news agency ANI quoted Dr Jitendra Singh telling the media after the commission’s Monday meet.