Jammu: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday urged the Election Commission to brief all political parties on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to address lingering concerns and ensure full transparency in the electoral process.
He said elections must always be fair and transparent, leaving no room for any complaint or suspicion, which is the responsibility of the EC.
“If there are apprehensions with regard to SIR, the EC should call all political parties and brief them about the exercise and address all the concerns,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
His remarks come in the backdrop of objections raised on the SIR exercise by many non-NDA parties.
The chief minister said he had never raised a finger of suspicion on electronic voting machines because “I do not believe that these machines can be manipulated”.
However, he said it is also true that the election can be manipulated in some other way. “If you see the delimitation which was done here (following the Reorganisation Act of 2019 and completed in 2022) was also an election manipulation. You increased six seats in Jammu (region) to benefit one party.
“Maybe that is why we have some concerns about SIR. It would be better if the EC calls us and explains what SIR is. And there is no need to worry about it,” he said.
Asked about a BJP delegation from J&K meeting Union Health Minister J P Nadda over the controversy related to MBBS admissions in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Reasi and demanding reserving all seats for Hindu students, the chief minister said, “…If you want to distribute seats on the basis of religion, then keep that place for minorities. We will invest the grant-in-aid that you get from the government somewhere else.”
“We have no objection. You pay the price of the land that was allotted there. Stop taking the grant-in-aid that you get. Change your status. Come as a minority institution. After that, if you want to distribute seats on the basis of religion, then do it; who can stop you? But till now, you have accepted the NEET exam, and in the NEET exam, you only look at the ability and merit,” he said.
Abdullah said that if any student failed to get through in the merit list, “how can you blame someone else for that?”