‘Delimitation Draft full of anomalies’
KD NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR : Janta Dal United J&K State President, G.M Shaheen on Thursday urged that restoration of Statehood must precede the proposed elections in J&K so as to facilitate the smooth running of the government.
In an interview with Kashmir Despatch Assistant Editor, Shaheen said JDU has strong historical roots in the political fabric of J&K and the party fully resonates with genuine demands and aspirations of the local populace without resorting to any regional biases.
Replying to a question about the abrogation of Article 370, the Party State President asserted that MP’s of JDU walked out of the parliament session whence this law was passed which showed their strong resentment towards the proposition.
“Currently, JDU has a strategic alliance with BJP in different states of the country & such alliances have occurred even before in the past. There is no denying about it but the stand & ideology of our party is still intact & will continue to remain uncompromised. We have unequivocally termed the abrogation of Article-370 unconstitutional & even exhibited our firm resolve in the Parliament,” he said.
Shaheen also expressed anguish over the Delimitation Commission’s report labelling it to be unrealistic & distant from factual situation on ground. “The uneven addition of electoral seats & arbitrary demarcation of the Assembly Constituencies has raised serious questions over the whole exercise. Uri should have been given at least two constituencies due to its high population density but we find such imperative changes missing in the draft report. It defies the very basic norms ordained by the election commission. Keeping in view the current population size of J&K, the maximum number of seats should have been added to the both provinces of the region,” he said.
The JDU State President reiterated his demand for holding elections after the statehood is restored to J&K so that local representatives can effectively serve the people & address their pressing woes. “I highly commend numerous measures taken by the Lt. Governor led administration but it can never prove to be a lasting substitute to the elected form of government. People are feeling disconnected & dejected in absence of their representation in the authority & it is crucial that this lost trust is reinstated as soon as possible,” he said.
While responding to a query about roadmap of the party for J&K, Shaheen said a comprehensive manifesto is about to be launched in the coming days wherein Party has echoed the public demands including return of electricity power projects to the J&K government, immediate restoration of statehood and ramping up of developmental works across all the regions of the erstwhile state.
