Srinagar: The political parties in Kashmir rejected the delimitation commission’s proposal with one voice, saying it reeks of bias and discrimination.
Former Chief Minister and vice-president of National Conference, Omar Abdullah called the delimitation proposal unacceptable.
Ignoring the population, which is the main criteria to delimit seats, the Commission gave six seats to Jammu and just one to Kashmir.
As per the 2011 census, Kashmir has 68.8 lakh population and Jammu 53.5 lakh. Hence, most of the seats should be allotted to Kashmir instead of Jammu.
“The draft recommendation of the J&K delimitation commission is unacceptable. The distribution of newly created assembly constituencies with 6 going to Jammu & only 1 to Kashmir is not justified by the data of the 2011 census,” Omar tweeted.
“It is deeply disappointing that the commission appears to have allowed the political agenda of the BJP to dictate its recommendations rather than the data which should have been its only consideration. Contrary to the promised “scientific approach” it’s a political approach,” he tweeted.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, “My apprehensions about the Delimitation Commission weren’t misplaced. They want to pitch people against each other by ignoring the population census & proposing 6 seats for one region & only one for Kashmir.”
The People’s Conference and Apni Party also rejected the proposal of the Delimitation Commission.
People’s conference president Sajad Lone said the proposal reeks of bias and discrimination. “The recommendations of the delimitation commission are totally unacceptable. They reek of bias. What a shock for those who believe in democracy,” Lone tweeted.
J&K Apni Party outrightly termed the proposal as unacceptable to them.
Apni Party demands a fair delimitation exercise without any bias, taking population and districts as the base. We strongly demand the GoI to intervene, it said.
The Delimitation Commission meeting was held today at Ashok Hotel in New Delhi.
The commission has proposed seven additional assembly seats for Jammu and Kashmir, with six going to Jammu and just one to Kashmir. The total number of assembly seats will be 43 in Jammu and 47 in Kashmir.
The panel has also proposed nine seats for Scheduled Tribe and seven for Scheduled Caste.
