Srinagar: National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah Saturday said that he and his party out rightly rejects the delimitation commission’s second draft proposal while as the party MP Justice (Rtd) Hasnain Masoodi said the panel has gone by its own wish and will.
Talking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), exclusively, Dr Farooq said: “National Conference rejects the delimitation commission’s second draft report.”
The NC MP Masoodi said that the Delimitation Panel has thrown the recommendations put-forth by the National Conference to the wind and the Commission has gone by their own will and wish.
He said despite explaining the Delimitation Commission that the exercise was against the constitution and any change in the existing step amounts to challenging the Indian constitution.
“Changes advocated by the Delimitation Panel as per their second draft proposal are totally unconstitutional. We have put forth some important suggestions and recommendations that have been completely ignored and thrown to the wind,” Masoodi told KNO.
He said that at some places, old constituencies have been removed and new added and there is total discrimination in the new seat sharing proposed by the delimitation panel, which is unjustified and unacceptable to NC.
National Conference (NC) spokesman while addressing a presser later in the afternoon rejected the second draft proposal of the Delimitation Commission.
“NC summarily rejects draft working paper made available by Delimitation Commission to associate members on 4th February 2022,” party spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also rejected the panel’s second draft report. “The commission instead of a constitutional body has proved itself to be as a frontal organization of ruling Bhartiya Janta Party,” PDP spokesman in a statement said.
“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”, the PDP spokesman, 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 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 ever step to disempower the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Delimitation was yet another exercise in furtherance of these designs.
The PDP spokesman said that the party has been from the beginning apprehensive of such 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 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 success of BJP and its shadow organizations the commission has thrown everything upside down. The redrawing of constitutional boundries 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 chalkout the future strategy.
The delimitation commission on Friday evening shared its second report with five members of parliament (MPs) from the Union Territory. KNO was the first to break the contents of the second report.
The report defining boundaries of 90 assembly segments of Jammu & Kashmir, was shared with MPs at 7: 00 pm Friday. “The report has been sent to all MPs from J&K,” they said, adding that the entire process of delimitation is likely to be completed in the next one month.
According to sources, the delimitation commission has also asked MPs to submit their objections, if any, over the report. “After they will file objections, the commission will seek objections and suggestions from the general public and hold sittings at different places to consider these suggestions, “they said.
On December 20, the panel shared district—wise seat allocation with MPs from Jammu and Kashmir.
In its report, the panel proposed six new seats for Jammu division and one in Kashmir division.
