Srinagar: Amid reports that the Delimitation Commission has proposed six additional assembly seats for Jammu region and one for the Kashmir Valley, Kashmir centric politicians on Monday hit out at the Union government for serving BJP’s interests.
Former Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah said it was deeply disappointing that the Commission appears to have “allowed the political agenda of the BJP.”
“The draft recommendation of the J&K Delimitation Commission is unacceptable. The distribution of newly created assembly constituencies with six going to Jammu and only one to Kashmir is not justified by the data of the 2011 census,” he said in a series of tweets.
“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 it’s only consideration. Contrary to the promised ‘scientific approach’, it’s a political approach,” he added.
Another former Chief Minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti said the “real game plan is to install a government in J&K which will legitimise the illegal & unconstitutional decisions of August 2019”.
“My apprehensions about the Delimitation Commission weren’t misplaced. They want to pitch people against each other by ignoring the population census & proposing six seats for one region and only one for Kashmir,” she tweeted.
“This Commision has been created simply to serve BJPs political interests by dividing people along religious and regional lines. The real game plan is to install a government in J&K which will legitimise the illegal and unconstitutional decisions of August 2019,” she added.
Peoples Conference President Sajad Lone said the “recommendations reek of bias”.
“The recommendations … are totally unacceptable. They reek of bias. What a shock for those who believe in democracy,” he said in a tweet.
The Delimitation Commission was set up last year to redraw the electoral constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir and four northeastern states. (UNI)