Srinagar, Mar 14: The National Conference (NC) on Thursday decided not to meet the Election Commission (EC) delegation, saying the party has nothing more to add to its demand of having simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state.
Three special observers appointed by the EC arrived in Srinagar on Thursday to assess the ground situation for holding Assembly elections.
They will interact with representatives of mainstream political parties and district election officers during their two-day visit to the state.
“In view of the EC visit to Srinagar today, the National Conference has decided not to meet the EC delegation,” a party spokesman said here.
He said the NC has already made its position clear on Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state.
“Our demand of having simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state in our earlier meetings with the EC team remains as it is. We have, therefore, nothing more to add,” the spokesman said.
In a statement issued here, party’s general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said postponement of Assembly polls can have serious ramifications across the state.
“The ones who took this incoherent decision must be up to some mischief otherwise there is no sound reason for not conducting both assembly and Lok Sabha elections together. If the situation is conducive for parliament elections, what stops them from conducting assembly elections at the same time?” he said.
Sagar said the powers that be “are up to something which will create more fissures” in a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir.
“Handpicking any individual undemocratically will inadvertently create ruckus in the state and will prove detrimental to the interests of the state and the country at large,” he said.
The NC leader said the people of the state are awake to the machinations of the forces “as are inimical to state’s identity and integrity”.
“The GoI (Government of India) wants someone who would work on the whims and fancies of BJP leadership. However, we will not let them succeed in this mission. It is with this belief that we expected a positive outcome of our meetings with EC team earlier,” he said
“Any misadventure in J-K by those who are holding the reigns of country will seriously undermine the greater good of the nation. People of the state are awake to what they have been doing all along and they will unravel their nefarious designs and give them a befitting reply in the forthcoming general elections,” he added.
Meanwhile M Y Tarigamai, Ghulam Hassan Mir and Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen also didn’t meet the special observers of ECI saying “we have already put forth our position about holding the Assembly polls in the state before the full Election Commission last week. There is nothing new to say about the issue.”
They said Jammu and Kashmir is without an elected government for the past nine months and in the absence of an elected government, uncertainty in the state is deepening day-by-day and dissatisfaction among a large section of people is increasing.
“We reiterate our consistent demand that only effective response to this situation would have been to hold elections to Assembly and Lok Sabha simultaneously,” the trio of Tarigami, Mir and Yaseen said in a joint statement.
They said without any further delay the Election Commission should announce the holding of Assembly polls with the Lok Sabha polls.
