While mainstream political events in Kashmir have strongly opposed the Delimitation Commission’s ultimate order, what’s curious is the response — or the dearth of it — of the management of J&Ok’s largest mainstream political celebration, the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference (NC).
While the celebration issued a press release on the Commission’s order, many noticed it as being too delicate. “The entire exercise has been blind to the universally accepted and practised criteria and principles with regards to electoral representation. However no amount of gerrymandering will save the BJP, and its proxies from the wrath of people,” the celebration mentioned in a press release, including that it could research its implications on the constituency degree earlier than making ultimate its response.
The NC’s political rivals say learning minor implications of the Commission’s order is ineffective when the train has “disempowered and disenfranchised the Muslims of Kashmir”.
But it’s the silence of the highest management, together with president Farooq Abdullah and vice chairman Omar Abdullah, that has led to a lot hypothesis. On Saturday, Farooq Abdullah, whereas chatting with reporters, refused to react to the order whereas saying the celebration has made its stand clear. On the backfoot, later within the day, the celebration issued a press release saying that Sr Abdullah has “reiterated the party’s stand on the Delimitation Commission”.
In distinction, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti hit out on the Commission, accusing it of furthering the BJP’s agenda of “disempowering people of a particular community and region”.
“The Government of India has once again trampled upon the Constitution of the country by turning an electoral majority into a minority. The real design of the delimitation exercise is the demographic change in Jammu and Kashmir,” Mufti mentioned.
Other events, too, reacted sharply. The Congress mentioned the Commission has “increased injustice and widened the gap of discrimination on various fronts” whereas the People’s Conference known as it a “repeat of the past” discrimination in opposition to Kashmir.
Hitting out on the NC over its muted response, a political chief from a rival celebration, who spoke on situation of anonymity, mentioned, “They say we will study it at the constituency level. That is not the issue. The bigger issue is that the Muslims of Kashmir have been permanently disempowered and disenfranchised. In any case, the Delimitation Commission’s order has ensured that the leadership at the constituency level will be decimated. They want no credible voice to remain in Kashmir.”
The NC’s stand has led to murmurs inside the celebration too.
A senior chief, nevertheless, mentioned he would give the management the good thing about the doubt and that the silence might be tactical. “I am not sure why there is silence. But it could well be that the party knows the award of the Delimitation Commission can’t be reversed. So there is little benefit in making an issue out of it. It could only invite more wrath from the Centre in the form of ED and other agencies.”
The NC, nevertheless, disregarded the criticism that the celebration management was delicate on the Commission order. “We made a strong case when we gave our recommendations to the Commission. Why do we need to reiterate everything all the time,” celebration spokesman Tanvir Sadiq informed The Indian Express.
Sadiq mentioned the celebration might provide you with an in depth response after learning the order intimately. “We have said we will study it at the level of the constituency. It has been sent to all heads of the party at the district level. They will study the implications and then we may announce something. In any case, we have said that we don’t accept it. We have already challenged the Reorganisation Act in the Supreme Court and I think we have a strong case there”.
