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Draft report attempts to divide people on communal lines: Altaf Bukhari,
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Draft prepared in BJP office, the panel just a puppet: J&K Congress
Calling the Delimitation Commission’s draft report as an imitation of the ‘Dixon Plan’ aimed at dividing people on communal lines, president of J&K Apni Party Syed Mohammed Altaf Bukhari on Saturday rejected the report as “it has deeply disappointed all sections of society in both the regions of J&K”.
Bukhari also questioned five MPs of J&K in the Parliament for their silence which shows that they have failed to represent the sentiments and aspirants of the people.
“These MPs should resign from the Parliament for their inability to represent the people of J&K. It shows that they represented their political parties but not the people,” he said while addressing a press conference here.
Bukhari said that the Delimitation Commission did no ground exercise and implemented the plan without consulting the people and their representatives in different constituencies with a motive to divide people into communal lines but people have not fallen prey to their plan.
“The merging of the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency with Rajouri and Poonch is an example of gross injustice with the people,” he said.
Referring to the delimitation of the Karnah Assembly segment, he said, “Whether the voters will use flying taxis to cast their votes in constituencies which were created ignoring geographical difficulties and long distances? These areas often remain cut off for six months. How do the people of one area approach their representative? Is it possible?”
Condemning the merger of the Suchetgarh constituency with RS Pura, he alleged that national security was compromised and the political ambition of a party was preferred which is a cause of serious concern.
He said it may surprise but the fact is that the commission members while sitting in Pahalgam completed their report concerning 12 constituencies within a single day without doing any kind of ground exercise.
He condemned the draft report of the Delimitation Commission calling it injustice with the vast majority in J&K.
Bukhari demanded immediate withdrawal of the interim report and urged the Prime Minister and the Union home minister to look into it once they get over with mini general elections in the country.
Expressing concern over the treatment with the BSF, CISF aspirants 60, 000 daily wagers’ unaddressed regularisation issues, he said the assurances made by the government must be fulfilled as soon as possible and the daily wagers deserve to be regularised.
“By ignoring the youth and pushing them to the wall, creates a situation when they become drug addicts and pushes them towards terrorism. The government should seriously address the growing unemployment issue,” he added.
He said that “The local bureaucrats of J&K are not being given postings. If they are given postings, they can be able to address the issues of the people. However, the command to run the government departments is given in the hands of non-local bureaucrats mostly.”
Meanwhile, The widely criticised delimitation commission’s draft report has stirred up a hornets’ nest in Jammu and Kashmir as Pradesh Congress Committee president Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Friday alleged that the draft was prepared in the BJP office and the delimitation panel was just a puppet that consented to it.
Addressing media persons here, Mir also played a conversation purportedly taking place between J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina and former BJP minister Shakti Raj Parihar, which has been widely circulated on social media as well.
“Since 2014, the BJP government is trying to destroy constitutional bodies and have reduced them to mere puppets. We all know how the judiciary, CBI, ED, and other agencies are being used by the present dispensation to meet its designs,” said Mir.
He said on similar lines, the present regime has used delimitation panel to its “advantage” in J&K.
“The commission came into being via law and the constitutional body has a set of guidelines that govern it. Though the commission has yet to put the draft in the public domain, not a single person in J&K has welcomed it. First, the BJP bifurcated J&K into two UTs. Secondly, it brought outsiders via domicile law and snatched the land and jobs of our people. And now there is a third attack through this delimitation commission,” he added.
He said the panel’s job was to add seven assembly seats and the parameters were already defined.
“We already had apprehensions when patwaris and tehsildars were being influenced by those in power during mapping exercise of the constituencies, but at that time the BJP said that there was no political interference. But, see how J&K BJP president (Ravinder Raina) is telling the former minister (Shakti Raj Parihar) that he is giving him voters from the Assar area,” Mir said.
“See the way he is imposing his authority, which raises questions on the integrity of the delimitation commission. You have also seen in the draft how they abolished the names of constituencies. We don’t feel that the draft report has been prepared by the delimitation panel. This is not the work of delimitation commission but of devastation commission,” he added.
Mir further said, “Today, not only the people of J&K but entire India has understood how PM Modi-led BJP government is destroying constitutional institutions, how their powers are being eroded, and how are they being encroached upon and trampled to meet its motives.”
The J&K Congress chief also claimed that the audiotape came out after the reports of the draft appeared in the media.
However, J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina outrightly denied the allegations.
“It is a fake audiotape. As a part of the conspiracy, three to four different clips have been clubbed. Actually, it was an eight to nine-month-old video, which was converted into three audio clips to question the working of the delimitation commission,” said Raina.
He demanded a forensic probe of the clip and said he was also planning to move court against news portals that ran it.
“The delimitation commission has done a commendable job. Had the draft been prepared in the BJP office, our stronghold Suchetgarh would not have been merged with RS Pura,” said Raina, while citing other constituencies, which have been merged.
Draft proposal pursues BJP’s divisive agenda: PDP
Outrightly rejecting its draft report, former minister and general secretary of the PDP, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura, on Friday said instead of incorporating wishes and aspirations of all sections of the society in its recommendations, the delimitation commission has brazenly followed the BJP’s divisive agenda.
Seeking to draw the attention of media persons towards the audio clip being widely circulated, the PDP leader said that audio has authenticated the allegation that the report was prepared on the directions of BJP leaders.
