Arshid Farooq
Srinagar, Sep 26 : Former leaders of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) have praised the Election Commission of India (ECI) for conducting elections peacefully and in a transparent manner in Jammu and Kashmir.
These leaders said that had there been no ban on JeI, they would have contested in 50 assembly constituencies across J&K.
In a joint meeting held in Baramulla, they expressed their support for Independent candidates, many of whom are former JeI members, given the ban on their organization. “If there was no ban, we would have contested 50 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir. We have always believed in the democratic process,” one senior former member of JeI said in his address, according to the news agency.
He claimed that JeI is a religious organization that never promoted violence. “There were raids on JeI schools and our homes. Investigating agencies did not find anything illegal. There was neither illegal money nor were there any guns,” he said.
He also praised the Election Commission of India for ensuring that the elections were held peacefully and in a transparent manner. “There is no rigging in the elections. We also saw in Parliament elections how elections were conducted in a transparent manner,” he added.
Additionally, he expressed disappointment that Kashmir’s MPs have failed to raise the issue of the ban on JeI in Parliament.
