EC should not rush into Pan-India SIR, wait for Bihar Election to get over: Omar Abdullah
No politics or regional bias in relief distribution, says Chief Minister
Shadow Correspondent
Srinagar, Oct 27:
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the Election Commission should not rush to carry out a nationwide special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, but rather wait for the Bihar assembly election to get over.
According to officials, the Election Commission is likely to announce a pan-India SIR of the voters’ list on Monday evening.
Speaking to reporters in his assembly office chamber here after the House proceedings were adjourned for the day, Abdullah said, “There are already apprehensions about SIR in Bihar. It is not clear yet whether there will be any benefits of this exercise for those undertaking it.”
“Let the elections in Bihar be completed, then we will see whether it was beneficial at all. Then we can talk about implementing it in the rest of the country,” he said.
He advised the poll body not to “rush into a nationwide SIR”.
“Otherwise, it will seem as if ECI has lost its independence and is working under pressure from a particular political party. We have seen this before as well.
“Delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir was not done for the benefit of the people but for a political party. The way new seats were divided and new seats created; it directly benefited only one political party. The EC should not make this kind of mistake,” the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister added.
Abdullah rubbished suggestions that there was an understanding between his National Conference (NC) and the BJP for the election to the four Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.
While NC won three seats, BJP managed a victory on one seat in the polling held last week.
Rejecting such insinuations, “There was no understanding (with the BJP on RS polls). Please understand that the National Conference is the only party in Jammu and Kashmir which takes the BJP head-on. Nobody else is doing that.”
“We are not those who enter into secret pacts. If we had to do it, we would have done it openly. I did not support the Vajpayee government behind closed doors; I joined the NDA. Whether it was right or wrong, is another issue,” the chief minister said. Abdullah said he wants the relations between his government and the
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Centre to be cordial so that governance is not affected. He, however, pointed out that there is a huge difference in relations between governments and relations between the NC and the BJP. “There is no relation between NC and the BJP, and it will not form in future also.”
Responding to Handwara MLA Sajad Gani Lone’s accusation that the Rajya Sabha polls were a “fixed match”, Abdullah said he did not understand why a person would comment on an election when he was not even ready to take part.
“Let him first say what was his compulsion to help the BJP. If he did not want match fixing to take place, he should have used his vote,” he said.
Abdullah said the media was acting surprised over the outcome of the Rajya Sabha polls.
“You had declared the outcome much before the voting began. Were you also part of the match-fixing? We still fought it out. The difficulty started with MLA Handwara sitting out. BJP needed only 29 after that, and they had 28. One or two would have been easy for them, but I didn’t think they would get four. Now those four who sold their conscience will have to answer to Allah or Bhagwan,” he said.
The NC leader said he would like the names of the MLAs who cross-voted or deliberately wasted their votes to come out in public. “Four votes went in favour of the BJP, three deliberately destroyed their votes. Clearly, the BJP attempted to lure people. On what basis they were lured, only the BJP can answer,” he added.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today intervened during the Question Hour of the ongoing Autumn Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, reiterating his Government’s stance on land allotment for the landless and the distribution of relief for recent damages across regions.
Responding to a query raised by MLA Pawan Kumar Gupta on behalf of MLA Sham Lal Sharma, the Chief Minister said that the Government is not bringing any fresh policy as the existing framework adequately addresses the issue.
“The Minister has already given the correct answer. The question is not about the absence of a policy but whether there is a need for a fresh one. We are not introducing a new policy because there is no need for it,” the Chief Minister stated.
Elaborating on the Government’s initiative for the landless, Omar Abdullah said, “We have already announced that five marlas of land will be provided to landless families for construction of houses. The necessary paperwork is underway. For residents, the land will be allotted on a lease basis.”
Addressing concerns over regional parity in relief measures, the Chief Minister strongly refuted any suggestion of discrimination.
“Our policy is not to seek relief for one region while ignoring another. This was never our intention,” he emphasized.
The Chief Minister said that teams from the Government of India, including the Home Minister and Agriculture Minister, visited the affected areas to assess the damage alongside local authorities.
“After a joint assessment, it was observed that Jammu division has suffered comparatively more damage than Kashmir. Accordingly, we have prepared a relief package which is being submitted to the Government of India for approval,” Omar Abdullah informed the House.
He assured that once the package is approved, the distribution of relief funds will begin without any bias or favouritism.
“There will be no politics, no religion, and no regional discrimination in the distribution of relief. Where there is loss, there must be compensation,” the Chief Minister asserted.
Earlier, Minister Social Welfare Department, Sakeena Itoo said that the Government has not formulated any fresh rehabilitation policy for the recent flood victims.
However, a proposal regarding the allotment of State Iand measuring 05 Marla in favour of each land less family affected due to Natural Calamities (i.e. Floods, Landslide, cloudbursts, earthquakes) on lease basis for residential purposes only is under consideration.
Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah today informed the Legislative Assembly that the concerned agency had completed the remediation work of 15000 MT of legacy waste at Mand in Udhampur, whereas the Bio-mining of the remaining 27,000 MT of legacy waste on the site, under SBM (U), is under active consideration.
He was responding to the Calling Attention Motion moved by MLA RS Pathania.
While calling attention motion about the dumping of garbage by Udhampur Municipality at Village Mand, RS Pathania said that the dumping has created an unbearable stink, diseases and un- aesthetic environment along with Jammu-Srinagar highway.
Responding to the motion, the Chief Minister said that the area was transferred to Municipal Council, Udhampur for establishment of Solid Waste Management Project for which the Municipal Council, Udhampur had invited tenders from potential bidders for Bio-mining of legacy waste located at Mand.
He said that the work for the Bio-Mining of legacy waste was started in March this year and the agency had already completed the remediation work of 15000 MT of legacy waste.
The Chief Minister further informed the house that from time to time disinfectors are being deputed for fumigating the surrounding area of Mand site to avoid stinking and risk of spread of diseases in the surrounding areas.
The Chief Minister further said that the site will continue to be used as a dumping site until the government identifies a suitable alternative.
