Political parties reject delimitation panel report

Political parties reject delimitation panel report

Say report aimed at disempowering Kashmiris

Srinagar: Political parties on Sunday unanimously rejected the delimitation panel draft report that has proposed massive change in assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Kashmir, saying
Peoples Democratic Party, Peoples Conference (PC), Apni Party, CPI(M) and Awami National Conference criticised the Delimitation Commission’s draft report that proposed redrawing of boundaries of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Rejecting the interim report by the panel, the Peoples Democratic Party said that instead of a constitutional body, it has proved itself to be a frontal organization of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
“From the media reports regarding the interim recommendations of the commission, it was clear that the sole objective of the body was to ensure backdoor entry of BJP and its shadow organizations to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir”, an official spokesman of the party said, adding that the apprehensions about the entire exercise expressed by the party have come true.
“PDP believes that the entire exercise of the delimitation is a part of a major ploy to disempower people of Jammu and Kashmir by division of secular and majority votes. It is unfortunate that all the constitutional apparatus was being put into action in order to achieve this sinister design of BJP”.
He said that the party ruling the country has taken every step to disempower the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Delimitation was yet another exercise in furtherance of these designs.
It said that the party has been apprehensive from the beginning of such an outcome and the interim report only strengthens such belief. “The fascist and communal forces with the support of their shadow organizations are eyeing on gaining power by all means and in the process the erstwhile state has been plunged into chaos”, he said.He said that the delimitation for Jammu and Kashmir was taken in contrary to the set principals of such process for the rest of the country, where the exercise is to be undertaken in 2026. “Even when the basic law, The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, was under challenge in the Supreme Court the union government hastened to initiate the process in order to give legal backing to its unconstitutional decision to abrogate Article 370”.“To ensure the success of BJP and its shadow organizations the commission has thrown everything upside down. The redrawing of constitutional boundaries has been done without taking into consideration the ground situations and areas have been divided solely on the principles of division”, he said.The PDP spokesperson added that though the party is not part of the process and has been objecting the exercise, it will discuss the report within the party forum to chalk out the future strategy.
The Peoples Conference led by Sajad Lone said the exercise of delimitation was an attempt to disempower and disenfranchise the people of Kashmir… it seems to be an exercise in disruption.
“Irrationalism is an ugly and a sad constant in the delimitation exercise,” he said and questioned the proposed formation of a parliamentary constituency by merging the two regions of South Kashmir and Rajouri.
The inhabitants of these two regions have totally different aspirations, the problems and challenges they face are completely different, the topography is different and yet for reasons best known to the Commission they actually merged two distinct regions to carve out a single parliamentary constituency, he said.
The Apni Party, led by Altaf Bukhari, rejected the proposals of the Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, saying the process adopted by the panel is “unfair and unscientific”.
“J&K Apni Party once again rejects the draft working papers regarding the delimitation of constituencies in J-K,” it said in a statement here.
The party said it had rejected the initial draft of the commission as well and had hoped that the panel would consider its recommendations.
“This delimitation process is unfair and unscientific,” it said.
Reacting to the recommendations, CPI(M) leader Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami said they are incongruous with the Commission’s earlier argument of taking into account the topography and difficult terrain while re-mapping the poll constituencies.
The Commission, which was supposed to serve as an independent constitutional authority, is seen as furthering the interests of one particular political party only to fetch them electoral gains, he alleged.
The CPI (M) has already made it clear that the draft proposal of the Commission is unpalatable to the party and it has moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Reorganisation Act itself under which the delimitation process has been initiated, he said
CPI(M) rejects the proposal in its present form and emphatically believes that the draft recommendations are inimical to the larger interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which could jeopardise regional unity, Tarigami said.
J&K Awami National Conference (ANC) president Khalida Shah claimed that there are no takers for the report anywhere in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Delimitation exercise cannot be undertaken in the absence of a legislature or an elected government, she contended.
This exercise is illogical, unjustified and rejected by people and across the party lines. The people of J-K irrespective of region or religion will not allow the Delimitation exercise to succeed, she said.

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