Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) on Wednesday set ablaze an effigy of the BJP government and the delimitation commission during a protest against the Centre here for allegedly delaying Assembly elections in the Union Territory.
The Central government has assured elections in Jammu and Kashmir after the completion of the delimitation exercise followed by the restoration of statehood.
“The BJP government is colluding with the delimitation commission in delaying and denying Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir to satiate its vested political interests,” JKNPP chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh said, cautioning the government of “dire consequences” in case the Jammu province was divested of its “legitimate” political rights.
Alleging subversion of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the JKNPP leader said the Centre seems to be averse to the idea of holding Assembly elections in the new set up.
“While the BJP regime was drum-beating over the issue of delimitation and increase of seats for Jammu, the fact remains that it has failed to initiate any concrete action except the constitution of a delimitation commission, which too, has been dancing to the tunes of the saffron party,” he said.
Singh said the delimitation exercise is based on two major factors — population and geographical area.
As per the 2011 census, excluding Ladakh, the Kashmir province has an edge of 12 percent over Jammu as far as their population ratio is concerned. However, Jammu comprises 62 percent of the total geographical area of the now Union Territory. It also includes rough terrains with poor accessibility.
“Therefore, the Jammu region deserves a higher number of Assembly seats than Kashmir,” Singh said.
