JAMMU, April 4: Jammu and Kashmir Congress has staged a protest against delimitation commission in Jammu, in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Carrying placards and shouting slogans, the Congress activists led by J&K Pradesh Congress Committee president G A Mir and other senior party leaders including former ministers and legislators assembled outside their party headquarters at Shaheedi Chowk in the heart of Jammu and staged a sit-in against the delimitation commission. They urged the visiting delimitation commission team to provide sufficient time to the party so that it can highlight the “irregularities” in its draft report in a proper way.
The BJP government’s delimitation commission headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai reached on a three-day visit to occupied Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.
“We are holding this peaceful protest against the delimitation commission over its draft report which is against settled norms, ground situations and containing large scale irregularities,” Mir told reporters. The Commission had invited claims and suggestions from all political parties, organizations and individuals from March 14-21 after putting draft report in public domain.
“We have submitted a detailed objections to the commission and want the commission to hear us for the benefit of the aggrieved population. We have not been given any time that shows they are on a picnic and fulfilling the formalities to put a public stamp on their report made at the behest of BJP,” congress leader G A Mir said.
Mir said that the report had given tension to the public as it was prepared in violation of the set parameters and rules like population, terrain and means of communication.
Terming the commissions report as “highly objectionable”, Mir said several constituencies have less than 50,000 voters while others more than 1.50 lakh. He said Congress was hoping for one more Indian Lok Sabha seat for Jammu region but the commission’s readjustment of south Kashmir Islamabad Lok Sabha seat and inclusion of Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region in it is “most unreasonable” and against the public interests and convenience.
“There are several irregularities and violations which need to be fully reviewed and reconsidered but the Commission is merely doing an eye wash to complete the formality,” he said.