Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 10: Asserting that there was ambiguity in the Third Schedule of the J&K Re-organization Act 2019, NPP chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh today called for a statement from the Union Govt and the Union Ministry for Law and Justice rather than using State officers to browbeat the media and to crush those who had the temerity to question.
He was referring to the statement of Divisional Commissioner made in the media wherein the latter had hinted at Police action against the media and others who were spreading reports of re-organization of districts and deletion of certain districts during the process of recent re-organization of J&K.
Calling upon the Union Govt to take note of the ambiguity in 3rd Schedule under Sec 14 (5) of J&K Re-organization Act, Harsh Dev pointed out that the names of 8 districts created in 2006-07 were conspicuously missing. He said that despite the 3rd Schedule subtitled as “Amendments to the Delimitation of Assembly constituencies order, 1995” with a further sub heading of “Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir”, the names of several districts including Samba, Reasi, Ramban and Kishtwar were not mentioned in the Table creating genuine apprehensions that these districts had been disbanded in the process of re-organization of State. In the foot note of the said Third Schedule had given clarification with regard to Tehsils, Patwar circles and NACs forming a part of various Assemblies, no such clarification had been given with respect to districts, Singh revealed.
He regretted that rather than Union Govt making a statement on the subject, the State bureaucrats were being used by BJP to silence the voice of people. Maintaining further that the J&K Re-organization Act 2019 having been passed by both Houses of Parliament in the present form, the Divisional Commissioner had no powers to rectify the anomalous situation. Calling for a statement from the Union Ministry of Law, Singh sought immediate remedial action so as to rectify the anomalous situation.
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