Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: Member Legislative Council (MLC) and State BJP vice-president Ajay Bharti today demanded fresh delimitation of Assembly constituencies in the State to remove discrimination with the Jammu and Ladakh regions.
“The working committee of J&K Bhartiya Janata Party adopted resolution in this connection recently,” Bharti said, adding it is more than overdue. He said that the people of the State are aware that power structure was tilted towards Kashmir region undemocratically and arbitrarily soon after Maharaja Hari Singh ji –the rulers of the State acceded to Dominion of India in 1947.
“This illogical slant was noticeable in nominating representative to the Constituent Assembly of India and also in ensuring an unfair election to choose members of Constituent Assembly of the State. A cursory look at records reveals that the then National Conference (NC) Government did not hold elections in the provinces of Kashmir and Jammu simultaneously. It was only after the so called ‘unopposed elections’ of the NC candidates had been announced in Kashmir that the dates for nominations in Jammu province were announced,” the MLC added.
He said there are similar other glaring examples of dictatorial regime denying people their legitimate right to represent and get represented by people of choice. “It is time to undo this historic injustice and allow democracy in real sense to progress and flourish in the State,” he asserted.
The BJP leader also appealed the Governor to take some firm steps to address the long pending demands of the Kashmiri refugees, as the whole world is observing World Refugee Day today. “One significant possible step could be political empowerment,” he said and demanded a suitable mechanism to ensure appropriate representation to the displaced community in Parliament, State Assembly, ULBs and Panchayats.
Follow our WhatsApp channel