By: PK Correspondent
Srinagar: National Conference leaders staying away from Delimitation Commission has raised many questions.
According to the observers if the NC believes that J&K’s reorganization was a “wrong step” then why did it participate in the recently held District Development Council (DDC) elections?
“The National Conference needs to clear the air. It cannot have the cake and eat it too. Either it has to accept the changes that have been made vis-à-vis Jammu and Kashmir or it has to stay away from the entire process. It can’t be choosy. The party has stayed away from delimitation exercise but will participate in assembly elections, whenever these are held. Isn’t this strange,” said an observer.
Former J&K chief minister and senior Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad also expressed dismay over the NC staying away from the exercise. “NC leaders should have participated in the delimitation meeting. However, they chose to boycott it and it is not a good thing. The National Conference has a majority as they have three MPs and all of them were appointed as the members of the commission, which would have made our case strong.”
It’s in place to mention here that senior National Conference leader and MP Justice Hasnain Masoodi had said, “The whole exercise (delimitation) is illegal for us. We cannot make our suggestions there. This exercise is against the constitutional provisions of democracy. Our participation would have amounted to accepting the whole illegal exercise. We have a clear stand that the whole thing is illegal.”
The Congress Party that has not been invited to be a part of the delimitation exercise while reacting to NC staying away from the process said, “NC is entitled to decide what it wants to do, but the questions will rise if NC participates in assembly elections after delimitation without it actually having been upgraded back to state.”
“See this is their own (NC’s) decision. Only they are entitled to respond to it. But questions could be raised if the assembly elections are held after Delimitation under the same format, that is with 90 member assembly under UT.” JK Congress Chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir told a local news agency.
An analyst said, “National Conference has to decide whether it wants Article 370 back or the statehood. It cannot sail in two boats. The party’s ambiguous stand is creating confusion among the people. It needs to clear many things before it becomes too late.”
It may be recalled that the Centre had constituted the Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir on March 6 last year to redraw Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies in the Union Territory under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
Delimitation Exercise: NC can’t have the cake and eat it too
