DDC polls cannot be disrupted

Terrorists and their mentors from across the border must be in greatest jittery of these three decades of terrorism and violence – sponsored, funded and sustained by Pakistan, on watching people in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir coming out of their homes and queuing for reaching their earliest turn to cast votes to elect the representative of their choice. Diktats of militants threatening of ”grave consequences” in case anyone participated in yet another festival of Indian democracy, that of electing District Development Councillors, have not only been rubbished and rejected by the people, especially from the valley but have instead shown more enthusiasm , zest and piquancy in these elections , the last phase of which is scheduled to take place on December 19. The incident of killing an innocent but a devoted public servant – the security guard of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader at Natipora near Ram Bagh bridge in Srinagar recently by frustrated and defeated militants, is yet another vain attempt to disturb the peaceful environment and democratic fervour pervading these elections. Such conspiracies are now bound to crash and get thwarted and deserve strong condemnation with contemptuous feelings.
If we look at the trend of polling in these elections , especially in the valley where it is biting cold these days and most of the upper reaches having had snowfall too which should normally have prevented people from braving the wrath of winter and coming out , stand in queues , especially women voters , it would sound nothing but a total negation of politics of hate , secessionism and staying away from democratic process to choose anyone from many, contesting for each seat. This election is the first major one laced with its own importance as well as sensitivity especially in the light of the Central Government arranging abrogation of Article 370 last year under due constitutional process and simultaneously bi-furcating the then state into two Union Territories.
That post abrogation of the vexed Article , there seems to be a perceptible change in pursuing policies of more public connect like the three phases of “Back to Village” programmes by the UT Government which is appreciated by everyone where the officials , after successful results of two phases, were jubilant in describing the reach out as ”a festival of development and democracy” among the masses. The decision to reach out to the people at grass root levels like making it mandatory to at least take up two developmental projects in each Panchayat village which in over 4290 panchayats cumulatively means massive development at micro and macro levels in Jammu and Kashmir.
We are least concerned as to who elects whom, as that is beyond the peripheries of democracy and its ways but what is more important is that representatives elected directly by the people shall comprise the DD Councils and it will be the people and their democratic free will as to how to shape and develop their areas in the respective districts . Their representatives shall be directly answerable to the people and it is the people who again shall feel the benefits and the glory of democracy and democratic process while on the contrary , utter darkness , despair, medieval retrogradation , violence and mayhem ”offered” by terror outfits and their protagonists leading to nowhere is fairly now understood by the people . Such militant lawless elements are on the streets always on prowl to kill innocents like the JKP constable , Manzoor Ahmed the security guard of the PDP leader whose martyrdom would never go waste.