NC Asks Delimitation Commission to Stop Until Verdict on J&K Reorganisation Act

Srinagar: The three Members of Parliament from the National Conference (NC) have submitted their objections to the Delimitation Commission urging them to halt the exercise of demarcating constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir as the writ petition questioning the validity of J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, is under legal scrutiny.

The Lok Sabha members including Farooq Abdullah, Hassnain Massoodi, and Akbar Lone in their objections have also asked the commission, of which they are associate members along with two other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarians from Jammu – Jugal Kishore and Jitendra Singh, to withdraw the proposal that suggested demarcation of new constituencies in the union territory.

The associate members filed their objections and concerns with the commission on February 14 while expressing dissatisfaction over the entire process of delimitation. The NC parliamentarians said the process was being carried out in violation of the “fundamental canons of ethics” of the Constitution.

“We have time and again reiterated the request that Hon’ble Commission must stop the exercise and await the judicial verdict on all important constitutional issues and jurisdictional questions going to the root of the matter,” the NC leaders said.

The Delimitation commission was mandated to redraw Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in the region in March 2020 as part of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which came into force after J&K’s ‘special status’ was revoked and the erstwhile state was downsized to two union territories on August 5, 2019. The move was opposed by regional political parties including the NC which later filed a petition in the Supreme Court questioning in the decision.

The delimitation commission submitted a fresh proposal in early February suggesting changes in constituencies that many termed were drastic. The NC leader in its objections filed before the commission also argued that despite the population taking a centre stage in such exercises, it has been pushed to the “backseat” while other considerations have been given priority.

The BJP parliamentarians, who have expressed satisfaction over the commission’s fresh proposal, have, however, suggested some changes that include the restoration of the Suchetgarh Assembly Constituency in Jammu. The commission proposed the constituency to be absorbed in two separate constituencies including R S Pura.

Following the draft, the move had evoked sharp criticism from locals with political activists accusing the commission of allegedly working at the behest of the BJP. Various social and political organisations on Monday assembled at Public Park in R S Pura and carried out a protest rally through the central market of the border town referring to the proposal as “BJP’s report.”

Members of the NC said the delimitation report would lead to the “disempowerment and disenfranchisement” of Kashmir and far-flung unattended areas of Jammu while highlighting the deviation in population.

There are seven Assembly segments, the NC’s report said, with less than a lakh of population including Paddar, Shri Mata Vaishnav Devi, Bani Mughal Madaan, Basohli, Ramgarh, and Kishtwar in Jammu Province while number of such constituencies is only three, i.e. Gurez, Karnah and Kunzer, in Kashmir.

“The population of Dooru almost equals population of three constituencies – Paddar, Shri Mata Vaishnav Devi and Bani constituencies of Jammu. While a little less than 2 lac people of Dooru will have one member in Assembly, an almost equal population from aforementioned 3 constituencies shall have three members in the Assembly. The people of Dooru from therefore cannot not be equal stakeholders in decision making and equal participants in governance,” the objections pointed out.

The members also argued that it was unjustified that Baramulla, which has a 100 km long Line of Control (LoC) and 4243 sq km total area, does not get an extra seat while a suburban industrialised district with 900 sq km area gets an extra Assembly segment in the “name” of proximity to the International Border (IB), which is a reference to Samba in Jammu.

2“Samba is a smaller geographical area with less population. One seat was increased here because of the hardships due to its proximity with the IB, but Baramulla has been ignored while they also face similar hardships due to their proximity with the border,” Masoodi said.2

They termed the demarcation of Anantnag Parliamentary Constituency as a “shocking example of unrealistic, illogical and irrational demarcation” which joins areas of Anantnag, Kulgam and Zainapora from Shopian District with Poonch and Rajouri Districts in Pir Panjal Valley. The parliamentarians said it was being done without any regard for the “terrain, geography, connectivity, accessibility, and overall convenience.”

“The draft proposal makes no sense looking from any angle. The only result would be huge hardship to the people of Poonch, Rajouri and also far flung areas of south Kashmir,” the leaders submitted.

The associate members from NC also expressed shock and accused the commission of attempting to invisibilise constituencies of historical importance.

“It is shocking when efforts are being to restore old names of cities and towns in the country, a conscious effort is being made to obliterate and remove the history and culture of Jammu and Kashmir,” the parliamentarians said.