Shadow Correspondent
Udhampur, Oct, 06
Accusing the present regime at the centre of repeatedly postponing Assembly Elections in J&K on one pretext or the other while holding timely elections in all other States and UTs of the country, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman-JKNPP and former Minister said that vested interests were the biggest stumbling block in the restoration of popular govt in the UT. The central govt had all along been claiming to conduct the Assembly polls in J&K after the finalization of Delimitation exercise which however was nowhere near completion, asserted Mr. Singh. He said that it was during 2014 elections that the BJP promised Delimitation of Assembly constituencies in J&K so as to end the political bias perpetuated against Jammu region due to uneven distribution of the said seats amongst the two regions of J&K. “It however floundered in initiating the process of Delimitation from 2014 till 2020. And it was only in March 2020 that the Delimitation Commission was constituted in the wake of pressure mounted by the public and various Jammu based organizations. It is however regrettable that the Delimitation process continues to proceed at a snail’s pace thereby giving the impression of lack of seriousness on the part of powers that be for restoring democratic govt in J&K. And delayed delimitation only meant depriving the people of a democratic govt in the new UT”. He was addressing public meetings in village Satyalta and Yug-dhar, the remotest belts of Chenani constituency during his two days tour.
Asserting that the BJP govt at the centre was averse to not only holding delimitation in J&K but also to Elections, Mr. Singh said that it wanted to continue its proxy rule in the new UT and retain all powers to itself. He said that the people of J&K were being deprived of their democratic rights of having a duly elected govt of their choice. The last elections in J&K having been held in 2014, the BJP govt still seemed dis-inclined to hand over power to the people even after a lapse of several years thus giving a fatal blow to the democratic values enshrined in the Indian constitution.
“With the last Assembly having been dissolved in 2018, the elections to legislature were required to be held immediately thereafter in consonance with the rule of law. The BJP regime however not only defied the democratic norms and procedures but also overlooked the basic law enunciated by the Supreme Court which envisaged holding of “Assembly elections within 6 months in all states where Assemblies were prematurely dissolved”, divulged Mr. Singh.
“With uncertainty looming large over the early Delimitation of constituencies, the UT of J&K was doomed to be governed by proxies from outside the state having hardly any accountability to the masses whom they ruled. As a consequence, therefore the people were suffering on multiple counts including the basic essentials of life with an apathetic bureaucracy indifferent to their woes and sufferings”, maintained Mr. Singh. He assured the people to project their issues before the concerned authorities and ensure a time bound settlement thereof.
