Communist Party of India (M) senior leader and People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) spokesperson MY Tarigami on Monday said that they have already challenged the delimitation process which came into being from reorganization act before the Supreme Court of India.
Tarigami categorically denied any involvement of the National Conference and associate members of the BJP, saying that they have no power more than raising objections within the jurisdiction of being the associate members as that right belongs only to the permanent members of the Commission.
Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, while commenting on the recent report of the Delimitation Commission, said that after the illegal division of Jammu and Kashmir into two parts on August 5, 2019, the CPIM, National Conference, Sajjad Gani Lone, Dr. Shah Faisal and Prof. Radha Kumar have filed several petitions against the Jammu and Kashmir Reconstruction Act which are being heard there. In another petition, the Supreme Court has been approached to challenge the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, under which the delimitation process has been initiated and other decisions are being taken.
“We had apprised the court that despite the matter being sub-judice, the Government of India was taking irreversible steps which were harmful for the interests of people of J&K and that the subsequent Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act be declared “unconstitutional, void and inoperative”, Tarigami said.
Tarigami, in his petition, noted that in spite of the fact that the presidential orders of August 5 and 6 are subjudice, “the Central government has, inter alia, taken the following reversible actions…” The petition notes these actions as the constitution of a delimitation commission to mark boundaries in the territory for all the constituencies before an Assembly election can be held, the amendment of the J&K Development Act to allow persons who are not permanent residents to buy land in J&K, and the closing down of institutions such as the J&K State women’s commission, the J&K accountability commission and the J&K State Human Rights Commission.
“The National Conference and BJP members in the commission have no involvement in redefining the boundaries of various parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Kashmir nor they have signed the interim draft in any way”, Tarigami added.
He said that the members of National Conference and BJP were associate members in the commission and their powers were not limited to them. It may be recalled that a delimitation commission has been constituted under the chairmanship of Justice Ranjana Desai.
The Associate Members include Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma, both Lok Sabha MPs from Jammu division and Dr Farooq Abdullah, Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi, all three National Conference MPs from Kashmir valley.
The Commission has two other official members including Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra and State Election Commissioner (SEC), J&K, KK Sharma.
Commenting on the recent report of the commission, he reiterated that the draft recommendations are inimical to the larger interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which could jeopardize regional unity.
He called upon people of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the rest of the country to speak out against the policies that seek to divide the region along communal lines.
Tarigami said that there is a general feeling among the masses in both the regions-Jammu and Kashmir-that the Commission’s recommendations are in line with the current ruling dispensation. “The Delimitation Commission, which was supposed to serve as an independent constitutional authority is seen as furthering the interests of one particular political party only to fetch them electoral gains,” he said,
