BJP move aimed at dividing communities: Mehbooba
3 members of the delimitation panel, including NC chief Farooq Abdullah, have already declared their dissociation
SRINAGAR: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday alleged that the delimitation exercise in J&K was part of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) plan to divide communities and religions and pit them against each other in the region.
Mufti raised apprehensions over the hurry in carrying out the delimitation in J&K.
“The tearing hurry with which GOI is railroading delimitation in J&K has raised genuine and serious apprehensions about the motives of this exercise. It’s part of BJP’s larger plan to divide and pit regions, religions and communities against each other,” she said in a tweet.
The delimitation commission for the UT was formed by the Union government on March 6 last year, just six months after special status of J&K was revoked and the region was split into two union territories – J&K with a legislative assembly and Ladakh without one.
Earlier, the delimitation of the constituencies in J&K was scheduled to be held in 2026. However, following the central government’s changes in J&K after August 5, 2019, the J&K Reorganization Act increased the number of voting constituencies for J&K from 87 to 90.
Justice (retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai is the chairperson of the Commission while Election Commissioner Subash Chandra and state election commissioner KK Sharma are its members. The commission has five associate members including three National Conference (NC) MPs and two BJP leaders — Union minister Jitendra Singh and Jammu MP Jughal Kishore. Of the five, three MPs from the NC – Farooq Abdullah, Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi – have already announced to dissociate from the exercise on the grounds that the J&K Reorganization Act 2019 is under scrutiny in the Supreme Court.
In a letter to the commission chairperson after being called for a meeting scheduled on Thursday, the NC members had written that “it would not be in tune with the mandate and spirit of the Constitution of India to associate with the proceedings taken in exercise of the powers under an Act, the constitutional validity whereof is under challenge…”.
They also wanted the commission not to go ahead with the exercise. “We would also respectfully request honourable chairperson, a renowned legal luminary of the country, not to go ahead with the proceedings…,” the letter said.
Mufti said neither war nor the gun are solutions, and the issue of Jammu and Kashmir can be only settled through talks between India and Pakistan.
The Centre should also engage the people of the union territory in the dialogue process, she said after visiting Kupwara district’s Zirhama area to express her solidarity with the family of a policeman, who was killed in a terrorist attack here on Friday.
Talking to reporters there, Mehbooba regretted the loss of lives over the years in Jammu and Kashmir, and said it was “very unfortunate that the central government is not bothered about it”.
She said if India can talk to China, talks should be held with Pakistan as well. “China entered into our territory and killed over 20 of our jawans (army personnel). But, despite that talks are being held with them which is a good thing. The talks have been held about a dozen times and some resolution can be seen,” she said.
The PDP chief said Jammu and Kashmir has become a “battleground” between India and Pakistan, and people -- policemen, common people and security personnel – were getting killed on both the sides.
“War is not a solution to any issue. No issue is settled through gun – be it of the militants or the security forces. So, we think that like any issue is settled across the world by way of dialogue, there is a need to hold talks with Pakistan, as well as in J&K,” she said.