Over 1 lakh displaced Kashmiris denied right to vote in civic polls: BJP

The BJP claimed today that over one lakh displaced Kashmiri people are being denied their fundamental right to vote in the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) and Panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir, thereby forcing them to take the legal route.

Speaking at a press conference here, BJP state vice president G L Raina said displaced Kashmiri people had voted in 2005 Municipal polls in Jammu but this time they are being denied this basic fundamental right to vote.

"Over one lakh displaced Kashmiri people are being denied their fundamental right to vote in civic polls in J&K by the Election Commission of India (ECI) by either deleting their names from voter lists or not listing them in voter lists for the coming polls in the state," Raina said.

This concern was also raised by various organisations such as All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference (ASKPC), All Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC), All India Kashmiri Pandit Conference (AIKPC), Panun Kashmir, Youth All India Kashmir Samaj (YAIKS), Vishwa Kashmiri Pandit Samiti (VKPS).

They have urged Governor N N Vohra to intervene in the matter.

The BJP claimed that they also took up the matter with Chief Electoral Officer of J&K Shaleen Kabra but he not only ignored their request but sat over the issue.

"If the issue is not resolved at the earliest by ECI, state governor and CEO, we may take the legal route," Raina said.

The municipal elections were last conducted in January-February 2005 and the elected bodies had completed their five-year term in March 2010.