‘We neither accept Govt’s clarification nor reject it’
Srinagar, Aug 22: Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone on Monday said they will sit on hunger strike before the Parliament and other constitutional bodies if there is an attempt by the Government to change the electoral demography of Jammu & Kashmir.
Addressing a news conference here, Lone, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that they will sit on a hunger-strike in front of the Parliament if the Government makes an attempt to change the demography of J&K.
“The law (Representation of The Peoples Act-1951) is not a threat to us but the intentions of the Government are a threat to us,” he said.
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Lone said they neither accept the clarification issued by the Jammu & Kashmir nor they reject it.
“We will wait and watch and if there is an attempt to change the demography of J&K, we will go on hunger strike,” he said.
He said that he will not attend the all-party meeting called by Farooq Abdullah to discuss the issue of inclusion of non-locals into electoral rolls of J&K, saying they will support if anything concrete comes out of it.
“I don’t want to be a point scorer. If something concrete comes out of it, we will support it . They should also support our programme,” he said,
Senior PC leader and former Law Secretary Muhammad Ashraf Mir said that chief electoral officer’s assertions about inclusion of non-locals in electoral rolls of Jammu & Kashmir are not supported by law.
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“The law is clear that the person must be a habitual resident of that place for a considerable time. The service voters (members of armed forces) can vote only for their native constituencies irrespective of their places of posting,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention that different political parties are meeting in Srinagar to discuss the issue of inclusion of non-locals in electoral rolls of J&K. The meeting is being attended by NC, PDP , Congress and other parties. Former deputy CM Muzaffar Hussain Baig had said that he will also attend APM if he is invited. But he has not been invited to attend the APM.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot and Sara Abdullah are divorced declared. It was revealed in affidavit filed for Rajasthan Assembly Polls 2023, News 24 reported.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot declared himself as divorced while filing his nomination for Tonk constituency for the upcoming Rajasthan Assembly Polls 2023. Pilot’s divorce news broke out after the former Chief Minister of Rajasthan after he submitted affidavit.
In the form, Sachin Pilot wrote divorced in front of his wife’s name. However, he has also mentioned Sara Pilot’s name while also giving details of her assets.
Citing ‘fear factor’ as the reason behind delay in assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference vice president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday sought answers from the Election Commission of India “for allegedly depriving people of democratic rights.”
While addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Omar blamed the Election Commission of India for “taking decisions in accordance to the BJP”.
“I have nothing personal with BJP. I have complaints with ECI stated it will hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir after considering all the factors. I want to know what factors they are looking at? There is only one factor that is fear factor,” he said.
Omar said that a “fear” is prevailing within BJP, especially after failing to gain a majority in the LAHDC-Kargil polls.
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“Earlier they (BJP) would hide behind Raj Bhavan now it is Election Commission. If there is anything else other than the fear factor, we want to hear. Is internal security not robust? You can’t deprive the people of their democratic rights of having an elected government in Jammu and Kashmir,” he asked.
Omar said: “They (government) are claiming that the situation has changed post-August 2019. They also release figures about a large number of tourists coming to Kashmir. The election commission earlier said that a vacuum needs to be filled. We want to know what the factors left to fill the vacuum are.”
Omar said they have no hopes of elections in Jammu and Kashmir especially after the results of LAHDC- Kargil polls.
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“If democratic rights are not restored then political parties will have no choice other than to come on to streets. The Supreme Court recently told the government to hold Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies elections. It seems they have now no courage left to hold these elections. If it was up to them, the BJP would even delayed parliament elections but they couldn’t do it because of the compulsion of forming government at the center,” he said.
Omar claimed the BJP’s defeat in the LAHDC- Kargil polls result of bifurcation of the erstwhile state.
“The results are proof that the bifurcation hit the people of Ladakh equally as it hit the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The results were less about development but more about the bifurcation of the erstwhile state. It is true that people of Ladakh distributed sweets earlier but now their social act visits are protesting,” he said, adding that “Now the BJP will cover defeat by claiming that Kargil is a Muslim majority district. Even Leh is also a Muslim majority district despite the fact a good population of Buddhists lives there. Our Buddhists candidate from Padam emerged victorious.”
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Regarding forming an alliance with Congress during elections, Omar said that India Alliance has not taken any decision of seat sharing yet.
“No talks about seat sharing yet by the India Alliance. We are ready for the discussions,” he said.
On the Palestine and Israel war, he termed it ‘unfortunate’ given heavy loss of lives.
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“It is unfortunate that deaths are happening from both sides. Violence whether it is in the Middle East or Jammu and Kashmir, innocent people suffer. We can hope and pray for normalcy,” he said. KNO
National Conference president and member parliament Dr Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said that opposition parties would hold a protest on October 10 against BJP-led government.
Talking to reporters after chairing a meeting of opposition parties in Jammu, Abdullah, who was flanked by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, CPI (M) leader Muhammad Yosouf Tarigami and other leaders, announced that opposition parties would stage a peaceful protest against BJP-led government on October 10.
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“The constitution is suspended and the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are under attack,” he said.
He said that they have unanimously decided to stage a peaceful protest on October 10 and would seek necessary permission from divisional commissioner for the same.
Abdullah questioned New Delhi and LG-led administration over delay in holding elections in Jammu & Kashmir.
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“Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir keep chanting that everything is fine here( J&K), but the big question is that if everything is normal here and despite the delimitation and finalization of voter list, why elections are not being conducted?” he asked.
He further said that government has promised to hold Urban Local Bodies and Panchyat elections but changed its decision overnight to make people more confused.
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Those who attended the meeting included PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, her party’s general secretary Amreek Singh Reen, Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani, Congress working president Raman Bhalla, CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, Dogra Sardar Sabha chief Gulchain Singh Charak , Jammu and Kashmir Shiv Sena (UBT) president Manish Sahni, Awami National Conference senior vice -president Muzaffar Shah, National Conference provincial president, Jammu, Rattan Lal Gupta, party MP Hasnain Masoodi, Mission Statehood president Sunil Dimple and former MP Sheikh Abdul Rehman.
Representatives of various other parties, including the CPI, Akali Dal (Amritsar) and the Internationalist Democratic Party also attended the meeting. KNO