Give in writing objections to seat rejig: J&K LG Manoj Sinha

Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha said on Tuesday that the Delimitation Commission was formed as per the law passed by Parliament and that anybody who is unhappy over its recent proposal for the Union Territory should submit their reservations in writing. Sinha said even common people can submit their reservations before the commission and then the reservations should be made public for a healthy debate. “The Delimitation Commission operates under the Election Commission and if someone has any reservations with its recent proposals, they should submit it to the commission in written form,” Sinha told media persons on the sidelines of a function in the winter capital of Jammu.

The three National Conference Lok Sabha members from Kashmir- Farooq Abdullah, Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi- and two BJP parliamentarians from Jammu, Jugal Kishore and Jitender Singh, who are the associate members of the commission, have already filed their ‘suggestions, objections and concerns’ before the commission in its office in Delhi. The BJP members have expressed satisfaction over the draft proposal of the commission but have suggested some changes, including the restoration of Suchetgarh assembly constituency in Jammu, which the commission proposed to be absorbed into the RS Pora and Bishnah constituencies. Scores of BJP members from Suchetgarh, including block development council chairman, had resigned from the party and organised several protests seeking restoration of the Suchetgarh constituency. A senior BJP functionary said the party has also suggested that the Shopian district of southern Kashmir be included in the newly formed Anantnag-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency as the area is geographically linked through Mughal Road. The BJP has also suggested that at least one assembly constituency be put under the non-reserved category in Poonch district, where all the three assembly constituencies have been reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the draft proposal of the commission. Further, the party suggested realignment of the boundaries and some of the assembly constituencies in the Jammu division. The NC Lok Sabha member from southern Kashmir, Masoodi, said that the draft proposal is ‘an attack on the history and culture of J&K.’“Primarily our first objection is that the J&K Reorganisation Act passed on August 5 and 6 is under judicial scrutiny and the Supreme Court is examining its constitutional validity. So, the Delimitation Commission is under judicial scrutiny as well,” Masoodi said. The NC has raised an objection that the commission hasn’t taken the actual population into consideration. “In Dooru constituency in southern Kashmir, the population is 1.92 lakh, while some constituencies have a population between 50,000 and one lakh. Now, Dooru will only have one member in assembly, while the same number of people in other places will have multiple representatives. This defeats the basic purpose of the delimitation,” said Masoodi. He also said that the commission has also ignored the basic yardsticks and fundamental guidelines of ‘connectivity and contiguity’ while redrawing the assembly and parliament segments in the J&K.