Jammu: Major political parties, including the Congress, NC and PDP, on Monday announced a joint struggle against the recently released final report of the delimitation commission on Jammu and Kashmir.
The announcement was made after a three-hour long meeting of the parties and several social organisations under the banner of All Parties United Morcha (APUM) here.
The delimitation panel on Jammu and Kashmir, formed in March 2020, on May 5 notified its final report giving six additional assembly seats to the Jammu region and one to the Kashmir Valley and bringing areas of Rajouri and Poonch under the Anantnag parliamentary seat.
The Jammu division will now have 43 assembly seats and the Kashmir division 47 in the 90-member house.
The APUM comprising Congress, National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), CPI(M), CPI and IDP besides several social organisations like Mission Statehood and Desh Bhagat Yadgar Committee have already rejected the delimitation report as “highly objectionable, biased and politically motivated”.
“The meeting decided to jointly launch a struggle and a sustained campaign to oppose the (delimitation) report and awaken the general public, starting from a joint sit-in this week in front of the election commission (office) here,” read a statement issued after the meeting.
Senior Congress leader and former MLC Ravinder Sharma presided over the meeting which among others was attended by NC provincial president (Jammu) Rattan Lal Gupta, former MP Sheikh Abdul Rehman, former MLC Ved Mahajan, PDP spokesperson Virinder Singh Sonu and CPI(M) leader Kishore Kumar.
The meeting reiterated its demand for early restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir before holding of assembly elections.
The participants also deliberated on the report and said it was against geographical realities, norms of uniform population, compactness, contiguity, connectivity and public convenience and prepared at the behest of the ruling BJP.
Criticising the final report, the leaders said the commission has totally ignored the ground realities and neglected the convenience and aspirations of the people of different areas and widened the gap of population from 37,000 to 1.90 lakh in different constituencies.
“The meeting also expressed concern over attempts being made to create communal polarisation and strongly condemned such actions of the communal forces encouraged by the BJP government,” the statement said.
It was decided to defeat the nefarious designs of such forces and maintain communal harmony, it added.
Hope SC restores J&K’s special status: Mehbooba
Srinagar, May 9 (PTI) PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said she was disappointed that the Supreme Court did not hear the petitions challenging the revocation of Article 370 for the last three years, but expressed hope that the apex court will do justice with Jammu and Kashmir and restore its special status.
“We are very disappointed that it has taken Supreme Court three years. This matter is sensitive. The lives and dignity of the people depend on it,” Mufti told reporters in Kupwara district of north Kashmir.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also said there were apprehensions in the hearts and minds of the people after the Supreme Court did not act upon the contempt of its ruling in Jahangirpuri area of Delhi.
“Our experience in Delhi, in Jahangirpuri, where despite the orders of the Supreme Court, demolition continued, I think there was contempt of court, but we have not seen any action by the Supreme Court over it, which it should have (taken). It should have acted against those officials who were involved in the contempt of the court and refused the court orders. So, we have many apprehensions,” she said.
Mufti, however, expressed hope that “the Supreme Court will do justice” and that there will be a forward movement in “restoring the special status” of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The BJP used its brute majority and took away our right, our (special) position in an unconstitutional manner. I hope the Supreme Court restores it (Jammu and Kashmir’s special position which was revoked by the Centre on August 5, 2019),” she said.
Asked about the delimitation process, Mufti said it was a part of the process which started on August 5, 2019 to change the Muslim majority status of Jammu and Kashmir.
“This is another piece of that process. They created a political platform for politically changing the demography (of Jammu and Kashmir). They want to change the status of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir from a majority to a minority,” she said, adding, the BJP has made all out efforts to “disempower” the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
To a question about assembly elections, the PDP chief said holding polls would not solve the problems in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We cannot say when they (polls) will be held. I think only election is not the cure for the destruction going on here or the problems of the people. The cure lies in many things which the Central government has to do, but it is not doing,” she said.
