Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Apr 22: With cumbersome voting procedure and failure of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to simplify the same despite repeated pleas by displaced Pandit organizations all over the country there will be low percentage of voting by Kashmiri Pandits as usual in Lok Sabha elections this year also.
According to sources, the turnout of migrant voters will not be good in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections this time in view of the cumbersome procedure of voting.
This can be gauged from the fact, that only 8,700 Kashmiri displaced Pandits have filed up their M Forms out of a total number of 27,235 to cast their vote in Anantang-Pulwama Parliamentary constituency which is going to polls on April 24.
According to figures available with ARO Migrants there are over 92,000 Kashmiri Pandit voters in Valley out of which 27,235 are in Anantnag-Pulwama Parliamentary constituency.
However the Kashmiri migrants claimed that the number is much higher than this but the voter lists of migrants were not properly updated over the years by the authorities and names of many bonafide voters have been deleted from the lists. Besides they also accused the authorities of delaying the formation of the EPIC cards for the migrants when half of the election process has been completed.
The Election authorities have established 18 polling booths for migrant voters to cast their votes in April 24 polling for Anantnag –Pulwama constituency. Out of them 13 polling stations have been set up at various places in Jammu district while one polling station will be at Udhampur and four in Union capital of New Delhi.
As per the figures out of 27,235 KP voters in Anantnag-Pulwama constituency, 17,304 KP voters are registered in Anantnag district, followed by 4793 in Kulgam district, 3837 in Shopian district and 1301 voters in Pulwama district.
“However the voter lists are not based on facts as only 290 KP voters figured in Tral constituency of Pulwama district this time while during the 2008 Assembly poll the figure was 1250,” said, Jawahar Lal Raina who contested last time Assembly elections from Tral on BJP ticket.
As per the official data the highest number of 3698 KP voters are registered for polling in Anantnag Assembly segment and lowest number of 180 is registered in Pulwama Assembly segment out of 16 Assembly segments in Anantnag Lok Saba seat.
As per the ECI notification the migrant voters other than those who opted to vote in person have the option to vote through postal ballot papers also. They can apply for postal ballot through prescribed Form 12 C available in Assistant Returning Officer Migrants.
Sources said facing the pangs of 25 year long turmoil which made over four lakh Kashmiri Pandits refugees in their own country, coupled with the cumbersome procedure of voting adopted for them, the migrant voters have lost interest in democratic system prevailing in the country and majority of them is not showing any enthusiasm in exercising their right to franchise.
There can be many reasons for Pandits not showing enthusiasm in elections, said Rakesh Kaul president Kashmir Samiti Delhi (KSD). While making a dig at the Government, he said the community has lost entire faith in Union as well as State Governments as it was because of their wrong policies that over four lakh Pandits were hounded out from their homes and hearths in Kashmir after terrorism gripped the Valley in 1989-90 and later in last 25 years no sincere efforts were made by the Government for the restoration of the homeland to the displaced Pandits who are the aborigines of Kashmir.
Lamenting the callousness of the Government towards the hapless community, Veer Saraf of Roots In Kashmir (RIK) said that over the years the Government only paid a lip service to the community by repeating the so called phrase that “Pandits will be taken back with honour and dignity’’ while nothing has been done on ground to mitigate their sufferings.
“It is the duty of the State to protect its subjects and in our case the State totally failed in its obligation, he said, adding only hollow promises were made with us’’.
Saraf said the Prime Minister’s job package for displaced youth is hanging in balance as out of 6000 jobs announced by Dr Manmohan Singh during his visit to the State way back in 2008 under the package only 1500 displaced youth were appointed in last six years. This package proved to be a cruel joke with the community youth as hundreds of them who left their private jobs outside the Valley to serve in their State are desperately making daily rounds in the corridors of Civil Secretariat here but to no avail.
The issue is not only of PM’s job package but there are many more issues than that said Ashok Kangan of Refugee Traders Association, adding how long the community will remain in exile as 25 years is the major portion of one’s life.
He said the Government betrayed the community on Temples and Shrines Bill and only made false promises on this vital issue. Besides, it failed to enforce the Distress Sale Act promulgated in 1997 in letter and spirit, restore the land of shrines and temples encroached by mafia groups in Valley.
He said for the first time in history of J&K after 1947 Kashmiri Pandits were denied berth in council of Ministers by coalition Government. Moreover no Pandit leader was given mandate to contest the Assembly elections in 2008 by Congress and National Conference. Besides many other issues are pilling up which has created a negative feeling among the displaced people against the both Union as well as State Governments.
Kangan said the denial of RBA certificates to migrants belonging to RBA localities of Kashmir by Government, delay in issuance of State subject certificates and bifurcation of ration cards are among many other vital issues which has turned the displaced Pandits totally passive towards the elections.
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