New Delhi: The five-member Panel of Delimitation Commission has proposed six additional seats for Jammu region and one for Kashmir valley.
This move by Delimitation commission will make 43 as total seats in Jammu and 47 in Kashmir. Of the total seats, 9 seats are proposed for ST (Scheduled Tribes) & 7 for (Scheduled Castes) SC.Twenty-four seats will remain vacant for the divided Part of Kashmir afar in Pakistan.
Moreover, Associate members are requested to submit their suggestions by the end of this year, i.e. Dec 31, 2021.
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The commission is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and also comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra as an ex-officio member and the Jammu and Kashmir chief electoral officer.
All the associate members were present for the first time in the meeting; National Conference Members of the Parliament have attended the meeting first time since the formation of the commission.
Unionists across Kashmir were aghast by the proposal, Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah said it is deeply disappointing that the commission appears to have allowed the political agenda of the BJP to dictate its recommendations rather than the data which should have been its only consideration. Contrary to the promised “scientific approach” it’s a political approach.
Another former J&K Chief Minister, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti who prior to the proposal alleged that “Delimitation Commission is BJP Commission and meant to benefit BJP Politically” said her apprehensions about the Delimitation Commission weren’t misplaced.
“This commission has been created simply to serve BJPs political interests by dividing people along religious & regional lines. The real game plan is to install a government in J&K which will legitimise the illegal & unconstitutional decisions of August 2019”, Mehbooba Mufti said.
Also, Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone said the move is a shock for people who believe in democracy.
“The recommendations of the delimitation commission are totally unacceptable. They reek of bias,” he said.
The meeting held on Monday at Ashok Hotel in New Delhi.
Hasnain Masoodi NC MP said ‘the proposal in unacceptable and a matter of concern. We will submit our report in detail very soon as the proposal is not acceptable at all,’ KNO quoted him saying.
