Srinagar: The All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) Tuesday announced that it will field Sikh candidates in several assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir where the Sikh community has a major electorate, stating that such a move will be a game-changer.
Jagmohan Singh Raina, chairman APSCC while addressing the media in Srinagar, said that APSCC will not align with any political party in the region, instead will field “independent” candidates. “We have decided to field Sikh candidates in Jammu and Kashmir on assembly seats, where our community is in good number”, he said.
He said that the primary focus will be on Kashmir province, with plans to field 3-4 Sikh candidates, and consultations were ongoing regarding six potential seats in Jammu.
“We request the majority community to extend support to Sikh candidates who will contest the assembly elections. We never asked anything from the majority community in Kashmir but this time we need their help to send our candidates to the assembly where they would speak for all”, he said.
Alleging discrimination, Raina said that in order to give a befitting reply to the discrimination they have faced, they have decided to nominate Sikh candidates on assembly seats where the majority of the electorate are Sikhs, stating that they can be the “game changers”.
“Since different political parties have failed us time and again it is time to teach them a lesson. The successive governments in the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir did not take any step for the welfare of Sikh community and they were just a vote bank for different political parties”, he said.
He said that they will discuss the probability of such seats and once things are finalised, their names will be announced