Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, May, 15
Pointing towards the judgement of the Supreme Court mandating timely conduct of Assembly Elections in States where legislative assemblies are prematurely dissolved, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and Former Minister today accused the GOI and Guv administration of defying the orders of the Apex Court for vested interests. He said that the Supreme Court in its judgement of September 2018 had ruled, that process of conducting Assembly Elections in States where pre-mature dissolution of lower House took place, needed to be completed within a period of six months. He said that the J&K Assembly having been dissolved on November 21, 2018, the Elections to state Assembly ought to have been completed before May 21, 2019 in terms of the ruling of the SC which however was not done for political and personal expediencies of helmsman at the centre and state. This amounted to violation of the orders of the SC for which the JKNPP would file a contempt petition against the concerned parties in the Apex court of the country, said Singh. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
Accusing the centre as well as state dispensation of having throttled democracy in J&K, Mr. Singh said that not only was the mandatory directives of SC disregarded but the people were divested of their democratic rights and constitutional guarantees. He said that the flimsy excuses given by the Govt for delay and deny over Assembly Elections in J&K could never satisfy the court whose Judgement had been circumvented and dismissed in the most casual manner. He said that plea of security constraints taken by the Govt sounded illogical in a situation wherein the Parliamentary elections in the state were held in the most peaceful manner. Similarly the state Governor too had made a statement that “not a sparrow had been harmed” during Panchayat and Municipal elections held last year which were claimed to be most peaceful elections ever held, said Singh. Under such circumstances, taking the ground of security constrains defied logic and rationale and amply demonstrated the foul intentions of the concerned authorities in delaying the restoration of popular govt in the state.
Mr. Harsh Dev Singh further pointed out that even the Home Minister had made a statement in the last Budget session of the Parliament that security deployment in the state was not a problem and that the Home Deptt was all prepared to provide as many troops as needed for Assembly Elections if held along with Parliamentary Polls. He said that even PM Modi had proposed simultaneous polls all across the country and subsequently blamed the opposition for not agreeing to his proposition. It was, however, the same govt which had declined to hold Assembly Elections alongwith Lok Sabha Polls thereby proving their duplicitous character besides their precedence for personal interest over public good and legal obligations, rued Singh.
Announcing his decision to move the Supreme Court for early restoration of democratically elected govt in the state, Mr. Singh said that the contempt petition shall also be filed for unreasonably and unjustifiably failing to hold Elections in state in conformity with the rulings of the said Court.
Mr. Gagan Partap Singh State Secretary JKNPP was also present in the press conference.
