STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Political parties, national and regional, including the BJP,NC, Congress and Apni Party besides various other organization met the Delimitation Commission on Thursday, during its second leg of the 4-day tour to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. However, the PDP did not attend the meeting with the Commission.
A delegation of the BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir unit on Thursday met the Delimitation Commission here and demanded the unfreezing of the 24 assembly seats falling in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to grant reservation to people displaced from PoK, Kashmir Pandits, SCs and STs.
Led by J-K BJP president Ravinder Raina, the delegation also sought adequate representation for Jammu in the assembly.
The Delimitation Commission, led by Justice (retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai, arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on a four-day visit on Tuesday to interact with leaders of political parties and officials to gather “first-hand” inputs for the mega exercise of redrawing constituencies and carving out new ones in the union territory.
“We demanded political reservation for POJK refugees by unfreezing the eight assembly seats from the POJK quota, three seats for Kashmiri Pandits, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other neglected people. Jammu, too, must get adequate representation in the assembly,” Raina told PTI.
The BJP delegation that met the commission included former deputy chief ministers Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta, BJP chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi and former legislator R S Pathania.
A National Conference delegation led by Provincial President, Jammu Province Devender Singh Rana, comprising Surjeet Singh Slathia, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo and Javed Ahmed Rana told the Commission that the party was a strong votary of strengthening democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We always espouse the cause of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as per their aspirations which are diverse and multidimensional”, the NC memorandum stated, adding that any Delimitation process has a vital role in empowering each constituent to be an equal share holder in the process of democracy so that each one feels empowered and not feels relegated, isolated, disconnected or disempowered.
It added that the Commission in the circumstances that it has been constituted is unique and its findings can have far reaching consequences in shaping the future of Jammu and Kashmir. History will judge its decision and our role critically and if we fail we shall fail our people and the Nation as a whole.
“We are confident that the Delimitation Commission shall work in the most transparent , judicious and fair manner providing justice to all in delimiting the constituencies as per the constitutional framework based on the basic tenants of Delimitation – population, geography, topography, area, physical features, contiguity, convenience of administrative units and facilities of easy communication and approachability of public convenience.
We feel that decentralisation should form core of democracy, all regions or sub-regions crave for equal role in the governance where no one should nurture a feeling of subservience or discrimination. We are for the singular, inclusive Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is a model of unity in diversity, but each region and sub region has its own diverse characteristics and thereby peculiar needs and demands which need to be addressed by the Delimitation Commission in a manner that everyone feels involved and democratically empowered.
Jammu region with an area of 26293 Km2 and population of 53,50,811 (as per 2011 census which is the basis of this Delimitation Commission) is a pluralistic society with multi ethnicity, linguistic diversity and has representation of various castes and creeds. Jammu and its sub regions (whether it is the plains of Jammu or the hills of Poonch-Rajouri or the erstwhile Doda District comprising Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban) feel alienated and have a sense of deprivation.
This Delimitation Commission must give its due to all parts of Jammu region so that our commitment for the equitable empowerment of all regions and sub regions does not get dented.
There are also geographical and topographical challenges in Jammu region and certain areas are far flung, inaccessible , remote, backward and mountainous and so a need to address their issues in a manner that they can also be equal partners in the process of democracy by being able to conveniently exercise their franchise.
Representation particularly in the far flung , rural areas must be judiciously decided so that there is accessibility and ease of public delivery to enable effective governance and approachability of public representatives.
The Scheduled Caste Communities, the Scheduled Tribes of the region must get adequate judicious representation. Reservation should be based on settled criterion which should be followed in a transparent manner to ensure that the faith of the people is maintained in the institution of the Delimitation Commission”, the memorandum elaborated.
The Congress, in its memorandum to the Delimitation Commission, observed that undertaking a delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir will be meaningless until full statehood is restored to it.
Statehood is imperative for the restoration of the democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir, it said.
“Until full statehood for Jammu and Kashmir as part of the Union of India is restored, there would be no meaning for the Delimitation Commission to undertake any exercise,” the memorandum said.
Unfortunately, the meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi last month gave no concrete assurance in this regard, the Congress delegation led by former ministers Mula Ram and Raman Bhalla said.
The other delegation members include Ravinder Sharma (Ex-MLC) Chief Spokesperson, Arvinder Singh Micky (former Dy Chairman LC), Thakur Balbir Singh (Ex-MLC) and Choudhary Mohammad Akram(Ex-MLA).
“This (statehood) is an essential confidence building measure imperative for the restoration of the democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir. May we at INC point out that until the restoration of statehood for J&K, as demanded in the CWC resolution of 6th August 2019, is completed, the delimitation process commencement will be rendered nugatory,” Bhalla told reporters here.
“The unlawful detention of political leaders and their incarceration for long period without any charges is itself an anathema to the founding principles of democracy under our Constitution,” he said.
The government must end the incarceration of political leadership as a step towards strengthening grassroots democracy in Jammu and Kashmir, he added.
The Congress urged the commission to circulate its draft proposal among all political parties so that they can put forth their suggestions and objections, if any.
It also requested the commission to recognise the genuine aspirations of different sections and areas and consider giving each of them their rightful due, it said.
Apni Party leaders led by Vice President Choudhary Zulfikar and comprising General Secretary, Vikram Malhotra, Provincial President, Jammu, Manjit Singh, Vice President, Jammu Province, Syed Asgar Ali, and Ex-MLA Haji Mumtaz Ahmed Khan stressed on the Commission that the delay in initiating the political process and conducting the elections in the Union Territory of J&K is a blot on the Indian democracy as the people of erstwhile State are being deprived of their right to franchise since 2018.
“J&K is being run by bureaucrats and bureaucracy. The bureaucracy may be performing well but, in any democracy, the bureaucracy cannot be the substitute of democracy,” the delegation informed the Commission Members”, a memorandum by the party stated.
The delegation said “It is important to visit the far-flung areas viz Pirpanjal (Rajouri-Poonch), Ramban, Reasi, Ramnagar, Udhampur, Bani, Billawar and Basholi areas of Kathua District, and other remote areas of Kashmir Province.”
They further stressed upon the Delimitation Commission to enhance the number of seats as mandated in the Reorganization Act, 2019 on the basis of population as population being one of the criteria for enhancing the seats, and seats be provided to those districts which are underrepresented till now.
“The administrative units should be the districts for redrawing the Assembly Constituencies and minimum units should be patwar circles except where there are compulsions and constrained with the district and administrative units,” the delegation told the Commission during their meeting with them in Jammu.
It was further demanded by the delegation to create a Parliamentary seat for the Pirpanjal Region.
“In Jammu-Poonch Parliamentary segment, Rajouri-Poonch has 10 lakh population (which is remote border districts) and Jammu-Samba has 18.5 lakhs in comparison,” the delegation told the Commission and demanded creation of a Parliamentary seat for the Pirpanjal Region.
A delegation of five Panthers Party leaders led by its President Prof. Bhim Singh, and including Harsh Dev Singh, former Minister, P.K Ganju, Senior Vice President, Anita Thakur, General Secretary, Mohd Iqbal Chowdhary, Vice President and Paramjit Singh Marshal, Provincial President-Panthers Trade Union, in a memorandum, regretted that Ladakh region has been ignored and there is no delimitation fixed for Ladakh.
Prof Bhim Singh said that the first priority should be to reduce internal and external tension in J&K. Political discrimination must go, he said, and demanded that the Delimitation should distribute the seats on 50:50 basis, that is 45 Assembly seats for Kashmir province and 45 for Jammu province.
He pleaded that the 50:50 formula shall ease the tension between the two regions and people shall be happy.
Prof. Bhim Singh strongly pleaded that Statehood of J&K should be restored without delay and Assembly elections should be held on the ad-hoc delimitation as is available this time.
Harsh Dev Singh strongly argued that delimitation should be held at the earliest and the due reservation should be given to the Scheduled Tribes as well as Scheduled Castes.
A delegation of the Kashmiri Pandit Sabha Jammu led by its President K.K Khosa apprised the Commission about the complete marginalization of the Kashmiri Pandit community from the mainstream socio-cultural ethos of the land of their ancestors Kashmir and also their complete marginalization from the body politics of the state in particular of Kashmir where their fundamental and human rights have been continuously subverted over the past 75 years.
K K Khosa urged the commission that the marginalized Kashmiri Pandit community needs to be politically empowered and sought least three assembly of Habbakadal in Srinagar district besides one constituency each from the erstwhile districts of Anantnag and Baramulla. The other members of the delegation were Ashwani Koul, S L Bagati and G.J. Kampasi.
Gurdev Singh President-Jammu and Kashmir Sharnarthi Action Committee (JKSAC) apprised the Delimitation Commission that out of existing 37 constituencies in Jammu region, the Displaced Persons (DPs) have concentrations in almost 18 constituencies. The DPs have significant population particularly in three constituencies of Jammu district namely Gandhi Nagar, R S Pura and Suchetgarh and two constituencies can be carved out easily for DPs. He said regrouping of votes/areas can provide space for representation of this abandoned section of society.
All J&K 1947 POJK Sharnarthi Intellectual Forum submitted to the Commission that the population of Sharnathis has reached nearly ten lakhs and therefore they were deciding factors in several constituencies.
“Since 25 seats are kept reserved for the POJK Sharnarthees without any solid reasons and out of 25 seat one seat has already been defreezed Mendhar Constituency and rest of 24 seats are frozen where as people migrated from India to Pak in 1947 have got there due share and are also enjoying their democratic rights.
“Out of 24 seats we deserve at least for 8 seats according to our population”, they said. Adv Amrik Singh (President) and Surjit Singh (Gen. Secretary) pleaded the case before the Commission.
A delegation of Duggar Pradesh Party sought carving of assembly and parliamentary segments on the pattern of North Eastern states in view of Jammu region comprising 87% hilly terrain.
“Jammu region is a fittest case for full-fledged State of Indian union and fulfilled all necessary requirements. This is only an administrative change to facilitate its neglected people and our all miseries, exploitations will end once for all after this recognition”, the delegation comprising Uday Chand, President and comprising Mohan Singh Slathia, Secretary General, Shiv Dev Sushil, Member Executive and Mangal Dass, District President, Rural Jammu said.