Srinagar, Dec 20: The latest recommendation of the Delimitation Commission proposes six additional seats for Jammu division and one for Kashmir. The panel in its draft presented before the associate members has proposed nine seats for Scheduled Tribe and seven for Scheduled Caste as well. The meeting was held today at Ashok Hotel in New Delhi and all the associate members were present for the first time in the meeting as National Conference (NC) Members of Parliament attended the meeting for the first time since the formation of the commission.
However, soon after the announcement, the mainstream politicians of Kashmir criticized the move, calling it ‘unacceptable’ and ‘unfair’. They invoked the data of 2011 census and call it ‘unjustified’ and a move to promote political agendas of BJP.
Prominent Party leaders took to their social media handles to condemn the move. NC Vice President and former CM of J&K, Omar Abdullah tweeted:
“The draft recommendation of the J&K delimitation commission is unacceptable. The distribution of newly created assembly constituencies with 6 going to Jammu & only 1 to Kashmir is not justified by the data of the 2011 census. It is deeply disappointing that the commission appears to have allowed the political agenda of the BJP to dictate its recommendations rather than the data which should have been its only consideration. Contrary to the promised “scientific approach” it’s a political approach.”
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday, 18 December, 2021 had already expressed her distrust in the Delimitation Commission and soon after the presentation of proposed draft took to Twitter, Mehbooba wrote:
“My apprehensions about the Delimitation Commission weren’t misplaced. They want to pitch people against each other by ignoring the population census & preposing 6 seats for one region & only one for Kashmir. This commission has been created simply to serve BJPs political interests by dividing people along religious & regional lines. The real game plan is to install a government in J&K which will legitimize the illegal & unconstitutional decisions of August 2019.”
Peoples Conference President Sajad Gani Lone also expressed his dissent to the move on Twitter saying, “The recommendations of the delimitation commission are totally unacceptable. They reek of bias. What a shock for those who believe in democracy.”
Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party President, Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari also expressed his disaccord and termed the recent proposal of Delimitation Commission not in sync with the census 2011, thus totally unacceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He further said, “The current proposal stands in total contrast to the process and guidelines mandated by the laws governing delimitation in the country. The district areas and their respective population numbers were to be taken into consideration as per the census of 2011 which for some unknown reason is missing from the said report.”
He added saying that, “not only the population criteria has been ignored but it seems that the commission has done away with the representational requirements of the existing administrative units”. He urged the government of India to intervene in the matter and ensure that the Commission revisits its report and takes the merit into consideration.