With the Delimitation Commission visiting Jammu and Kashmir the second time, the political parties barring the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) met the commission with the demands ranging from de-freezing of seats reserved for Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK) to a reservation on basis of caste, faith and ethnicity.
Unlike Jammu, the Kashmir region, where the population is higher, witnessed the invitee politicians being allotted around 20 minutes each for interaction at a five-star hotel. The security grid had blocked the entire road and converted the hotel into a sort of a fortress.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) championed the Jammu cause. Kashmir centric parties including the five-member People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration constituents termed the exercise “unconstitutional” but four of them including the National Conference met the Commission.
BJP’S OBJECTIVE
BJP President Ravinder Raina told Kashmir Life that they informed the Commission that the 1995 delimitation process favoured Kashmir.
“We told them there was an imbalance of power ever since then,” Raina said, adding that they demanded eight seats from the quota of 24 seats reserved for PaK. These can be given to internally displaced people.
Raina also told the Commission that population alone can’t be the criterion for delimitation of constituencies because in the rest of India the population is the sixth point while geography is a key element.
Similar voices were echoed by Jammu and Kashmir Sharnarthi Action Committee (JKSAC) and All J&K 1947 POJK Sharnarthi Intellectual Forum.
This story is from the July 17, 2021 edition of Kashmir Life.
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This story is from the July 17, 2021 edition of Kashmir Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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