BJP delaying Assembly polls to continue its proxy rule: Harsh

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Dec 9: Alleging that the BJP Govt at the Centre was averse to not only holding delimitation in J&K but also to the Assembly elections, JKNPP Chairman and former Minister Harsh Dev Singh said that the present dispensation wanted to continue its proxy rule in the new UT and retain all powers to itself.
“While the process of delimitation of 4121 Assembly constituencies of 28 States of the country and 539 Parliamentary constituencies was completed by Justice Kuldeep Singh led Delimitation Commission within a period of 4 years, it is ironical to note the lack of any progress achieved by the present delimitation commission in delimiting barely 90 Assembly constituencies of J&K despite a lapse of 21 months from the date of its constitution,” he said, while addressing a press conference, here today.
Singh said that while delimitation of new DDC constituencies in J&K was effected in 2020 within one week by the present dispensation, the helmsmen had failed to come out with any convincing explanation for the inordinate delay in delimiting Assembly constituencies. He said that with delimitation delayed and denied, political process having been rendered defunct in J&K and political parties discredited and discouraged, the Centre seemed to be hell-bent to deprive J&K of a democratically elected govt.
He said that the people of J&K were being deprived of their democratic rights of having a duly elected Govt of their choice. “With the last Assembly having been dissolved in 2018, the elections to legislature were required to be held immediately thereafter in consonance with the rule of law. The BJP regime however not only defied the democratic norms and procedures but also overlooked the basic law enunciated by the Supreme Court which envisaged holding of Assembly elections within 6 months in all states where Assemblies were prematurely dissolved,” he added.
Asserting that Delimitation Commission was an autonomous body constituted under Art 82 of the Constitution of India, Harsh dev Singh said that it needed to act impartially and independently without any interference of the Govt.