'Let electoral process go to hell' Sajad Lone hints at quitting politics

Ground Report | New Delhi: Sajad hints at quitting politics; Several political parties in Kashmir valley have expressed their displeasure at the proposal to re-delimit the electoral districts of the assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sajad Lone hints at quitting politics

Several political parties have described it as "another attack on the Kashmir Assembly." Sajjad Lone J&K People's Conference president said that the first attack took place on August 5, 2019, when the central government repealed Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave Kashmir a special status.

After preliminary recommendations emerged, Lone said: "I think it will be extremely difficult for anyone who respects himself to stay here (in politics)."

Sajjad Lone alleged, "What they are doing is like BJP-A and BJP-B. Let them enjoy the election and do what they are pretending to challenge each other". They don't know what they are doing. They are taking away the power of Kashmiris."

ALSO READ: Delimitation Pannel trying to limit the power of Kashmir Region?

He further added "that 'this is shameful'. He said, "It is a bad stain on those who shot for India and are in the grave today."

He added "I can't believe this is being done. In, First of all, do a scoping exercise when democracy is suspended. You can't be a judge, jury, lawyer, and all that. They can't do BJP A and BJP B. So BJP A will be one candidate and BJP B will be another candidate. I'm sure no self-respecting person will like to fight."

"Let the electoral process go to hell. It is a shame, to defame the people who are in the graves because they took a bullet for India. I am talking about the Muslims of Kashmir. And this is for the Prime Minister and the Minister from the Home Affairs. There are at least 20-30,000 graves that have been shot by India. This is how you treat it, you take away their power, you take away their right to vote, "he added, highlighting that he does not want to continue in the political space if this proposal is cleared.

Parties raised doubts on process

However, the National Conference and Congress had raised doubts about this entire process and raised the question of the repeal of Article 370 of the BJP government at these meetings.

The National Conference and the Congress party had raised the question that when the delineation of electoral districts in the country was stopped until 2026, why is this happening now in Jammu and Kashmir?

However, the PDP, one of the main parties in the Valley, did not participate in the meeting with the Delimitation Commission.

ALSO READ: Power outages in J&K: Army deploys troops to restore electricity

He had given the reasoning behind not attending the meeting, saying that because the central government has not taken any steps to improve the lives of ordinary people. He had described the outcome of the delineation process as "generally predetermined."

The Delimitation Commission meeting was held in Delhi on Monday. The chairman of the commission is a former Supreme Court judge. Five deputies were present at this meeting. Three of these MPs are from Kashmir and two from Jammu.

With this proposal, the seats in the Jammu region will increase from 37 to 43 and the Kashmir Valley from 46 to 47 in the 83-seat Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

What is J&K’s delimitation commission?

The Delimitation commission or Boundary commission of India is a commission established by the Government of India under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act. The main task of the commission is redrawing the boundaries of the various assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on a recent census.

After delimitation under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019, the number of assembly seats in the state is to increase to seven seats and the total number of seats will reach 114. Of these, 24 seats will be reserved for Pakistan- administrated Jammu and Kashmir.

According to experts, out of the seven seats increasing after the delimitation, many seats can be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. Currently, seven assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir have been reserved for the Scheduled Castes, but not even one seat is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.

In such a situation, there is a possibility of reservation of seats for the scheduled castes after the new delimitation. The leadership of the BJP also wants that there is the reservation of seats for the Scheduled Tribes. This will increase the number of seats in the Jammu division.

You can connect with Ground Report on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Whatsapp. For suggestions and writeups mail us at [email protected]