The authorities said the nomination was rejected owing to non-submission of the oath certificate under section 16 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019
As more political voices rally behind jailed separatist cleric Sarjan Barkati for his decision to fight assembly elections, the Jammu and Kashmir election authorities said Barkati’s nomination was rejected as he did not submit an oath certificate signed by superintendent of Central Jail, Srinagar.
The nomination papers of Sarjan Ahmad Wagay alias Barkati, known for his pro-Azadi stance and speeches, were among those rejected by the election authorities during scrutiny on Wednesday, triggering condemnations by various political leaders. He had filed his nomination for Zainapora seat in Shopian through his daughter Sughra Barkati on Tuesday.
The authorities said the nomination was rejected owing to non-submission of the oath certificate under section 16 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
“On examination of nomination papers, it was found it lacked an oath certificate duly signed by the Superintendent of Central Jail Srinagar, as the candidate is under detention,” the authorities said in a statement issued through the Shopian district information officer.
Barkati, a popular cleric known for leading protests against the killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani in 2016, is currently in jail for illegal fund-raising to allegedly propagate radicalism. His wife is also in jail in connection with the case.
“Accordingly, the authorised person of the candidate was handed over the prescribed checklist/acknowledgement form duly signed by returning officer to produce an Oath certificate and other deficient documents, latest by 11 am on August 28, 2024. The candidate failed to produce the required documents by the specified time,” the statement read.
In view of the mandatory requirement of oath under Section 16 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the returning officer was constrained to reject the Nomination papers at the time of scrutiny, the statement said.
Chorus for support grows
The rejection has not gone down well with many people of the valley as condemnations continued from various quarters.
People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone said elections cannot be an exclusive luxury. “The rejection of the election form of Sarjan Barkati is highly condemnable. This family has gone through a terrible time. Both Barkati Sahib and his wife are behind the bars. I request the election commission to investigate the conditions and the context in which the form was rejected. Election cannot be an exclusive luxury. That defeats the whole purpose of elections,” he wrote in a post on X.
Peoples Democratic Party leader Waheed Parra said rejecting Barkati’s nomination was a setback for democratic process in Kashmir.
“As dissenters look to the ballot for hope, silencing them only chokes space. This shift toward democracy is perhaps the only dignified exit for the disintegrated. Why squander it @ECISVEEP,” he wrote on X.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had on Wednesday urged the Election Commission of India to offer clarity on the rejection of Barkati’s papers. “Sorry to hear about the rejection of the assembly nomination form of Sarjan Barkati from Zainpora. The Election Commissioner must make the reasons public for this decision. Democracy is a battle of ideas and everyone should be given a chance to participate in it,” she said.
Barkati was the first jailed separatist leader to have filed nomination papers in the first phase of elections which will be held on September 18.
Since October 2016, Barkati has been mostly in jail. He was arrested on October 1, 2016 under Public Safety Act after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani against which he gave many speeches and sang “pro-Azadi” rhythmic slogans getting the name “Azadi Chacha” or pied-piper. He was released in October 2020 and then again arrested in August 2023 by Kashmir State Investigation Agency for allegedly orchestrating a fund-raising campaign and raising campaign and raising crore. Source
