JKNPP protests against govt's silence over delimitation, Assembly polls in UT

A group of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) activists on Monday staged a demonstration here against the BJP for its alleged "criminal silence" post reorganisation over the issue of delimitation and Assembly elections in the Union Territory.

Party chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh led the protest at Exhibition Ground with participants chanting slogans in support of their demand for setting up a delimitation commission to redraw assembly constituencies and holding early assembly polls.

Seeking an official statement from the Bharatiya Janata Party over the issues, Singh said the delimitation of Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir has been repeatedly assured by the state as well central BJP leadership and had even been incorporated by the saffron party in its election manifesto released during the 2014 elections in the erstwhile state.

"While it took no initiative during its three-and-a-half year rule in J&K over the subject, it tried to pacify the people by its persistent rhetoric that the post reorganisation era would witness delimitation of Assembly seats as a priority with a higher number of seats for Jammu region," he told reporters.

The former minister said the party was given to understand that immediate steps would be taken upon conversion of the former state into a Union Territory for delimiting the Assembly constituencies, increase in the number of seats, rotation of reserved seats and reservation of Scheduled Tribes which will be followed by early elections in the newly created Union Territory.

"Despite a lapse of five and a half months, the government has failed to even come out with any proposal for delimitation exercise and further maintained a studied, intriguing silence over the issue of holding elections," he said.

He claimed that the BJP leadership was issuing veiled threats to JKNPP leaders to desist from seeking delimitation of Assembly constituencies instead of making any announcement over the issue.

Seeking early Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said that repeated postponement of polls only amounted to subversion of the Constitution and defiance of judgments rulings pronounced by the Supreme Court.

"By continuing its proxy rule in Jammu and Kashmir through its trusted lieutenant governor, the Centre was not only denying the people their fundamental rights and guarantees but also defying the Constitution which it was claiming to have extended to the Union Territory," Singh added.