PAGD crucial meet tomorrow, Farooq to address workers today
Mehbooba shown black flags on arrival
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 5: Though the State Election Commission (SEC) today set the process in motion for first-ever election to the District Development Councils (DDCs), several major political parties including Congress, National Conference, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), CPM, People’s Conference etc are yet to take a call on whether to contest the elections or not while the BJP, Apni Party, BSP and Nationalist Panthers Party (NPP) have geared up for the first major electoral battle in Jammu and Kashmir post August 5, 2019 when special status of the erstwhile State was scrapped and it was divided into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
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PDP president Mehbooba Mufti reached here this morning amidst black flag and go back protests at Airport to join crucial meeting of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on November 7, which among other issues, will also debate ongoing electoral exercise including elections to the DDCs and by-polls to Panchayats and Municipalities.
Pradesh Congress president GA Mir told the Excelsior that the party will take a decision on contesting the elections within next two days after taking opinion of the senior leaders and charged the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the State Election Commission with not taking even registered political parties into confidence on various aspects of electoral exercise.
“We will take decision on elections within next one or two days,” Mir said but regretted that neither the J&K Government nor the SEC took the opinion of even registered political parties on uneven constituencies of DDCs, process of delimitation and reservation and security of candidates and, instead, took all decisions unilaterally, which is not done.
The PAGD is holding crucial meeting here at National Conference president and PAGD chief Dr Farooq Abdullah’s Bhatindi residence on November 7 in which several issues including ongoing electoral exercise will be discussed.
CPM general secretary MY Tarigami said: “Expectedly, the PAGD will take unanimous decision on contesting the elections or not”.
While Mehbooba Mufti reached here this afternoon, National Conference leaders and former Chief Ministers Dr Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah will arrive tomorrow followed by Tarigami and others. They will address the NC workers tomorrow.
National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana, however, said the National Conference Working Committee will take a decision on whether the party will join electoral fray or not.
“This is a decision that has to be taken by the Working Committee of the party as and when it meets. It will decide future course of action,” Rana said.
While PDP president Mehbooba Mufti met senior party leaders here today, she will meet deputations tomorrow and later call a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party, former MLC and senior PDP leader Surinder Choudhary said, adding the PDP is yet to discuss the issue of contesting the DDC and other elections.
Altaf Bukhari-led Apni Party has already made it clear that it will contest the DDC elections as it will strengthen democracy at gross-root level while the NPP today also announced that it will join the battle of ballots.
NPP leader and former Minister Harshdev Singh said the party has decided to contest the DDC elections as well as by-polls to Panchayats and ULBs and started aggressive campaigning from Sudh Mahadev today.
Sources in the undecided political parties said they have to take decision on contesting elections within two-three days as November 12 is last date for filing of nomination papers for Phase-I of polling.
Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti was shown black flags at the Jammu Airport by local Shiv Sena and Rashtriya Bajrang Dal activists protesting against her remarks on the national flag on her arrival here this afternoon.
The activists asked the former Chief Minister to go back and threatened to disrupt law and order here if she was allowed to carry forward her Gupkar Agenda in Jammu.
Led by youth leaders Rakesh Kumar and Manish Kumar, the Shiv Sena and Rashtriya Bajrang Dal activists blocked the road on the Jammu Airport and showed black flags to Mehbooba Mufti on her arrival.
However, police later cleared the road to facilitate passage of Mehbooba Mufti.
Amid chants of ‘Mehbooba Mufti Hai Hai’ and ‘Mehbooba go back’, the activists, including women, appealed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha not to allow the meeting of the Gupkar Alliance in Jammu on November 7.
Jammu and Kashmir’s mainstream political parties, including the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party, formed the Gupkar alliance on October 15 for restoration of special status of the erstwhile State and also to initiate a dialogue between all the stakeholders on the issue.
“We will not allow it to happen. We will go there and hold protests. No anti-India meeting will be held on the soil of Jammu,” Shiv Sena leader Manish Kumar told reporters.
Mehbooba’s visit to Jammu can disturb the law and order situation and it is up to the Government to take a call to ensure no meeting takes place here, he said.
Rashtriya Bajrang Dal head Rakesh Kumar also said they will not allow the meeting of the Gupkar Alliance to take place in Jammu.
“She has come here today with the Gupkar Agenda. We will not allow it here. We warn all those who will take part in their Gupkar agenda,” Kumar said.
He hit out at Mehbooba for her remarks on the national flag.
“We have protested against her with black flags. We have shown her black flags because she has always insulted the tricolor and also the law of land,” he added.
Protests were staged outside the PDP office last month after Mehbooba said she was not interested in contesting elections or holding the tricolor till the Constitutional changes enforced on August 5 last year are rolled back.
Following the PDP chief’s statements, the BJP had accused her of making “seditious remarks” and had demanded her arrest.
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