Sumer Khajuria
In terms of Article 82 of the constitution of India read with provision below section 14(7)of the Jammu and Kashmir Recorganisation Act 2019(34 of 2019), the delimitation of both Parliament and State legislature has to be conducted keeping in view the parameters so fixed for the purpose under the delimitation Act 2002 (33 of 2002) being mutatis mutandis applicable in case of the J&K wef.31st day of October 2015 in terms of Govt. of India’s notification (S.O2889 (e)) V dated 9th August 2019 published in the Gazette of India extra ordinary dated 9th August 2018. The delimitation commission constituted by the Govt. of India, comprising of three members one of which a chairman, who is or has been a Judge of the supreme court, one member nominated by the Chief Election commission, who holds the position of sitting election commission of India besides the State Election Commissioner of the concerned state both being ex-officio. The said Delimitation commission under sections of the Act 33 of 2002 has to associate with itself for the purpose of assisting in its duties in respect of each state ten persons, five of whom shall be members of the House of People representing the state and five members of legislature Assembly of the State. The members of Lok Sabha are to be nominated by the Lok Sabha Speaker and incase of members of Legistative Assembly by its speaker. The Secretary to the Election Commission is to be the ex officio Secretary of the Delimitation commission. The Delimitation of the constituencies of both Lok Sabha and State legislative Assembly constituencies is to be carried in accordance with cencus of 2011 so published in terms provision below section 14(7) of the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019 read with sections 8,9, of the Delimitation Act 2002 According to the cencus report so officially published the population of Kashmir Division was 68,88,475 but where as of Jammu, 53,78538 but whereas the area of Kashmir is only 15948 sqkms but in case of Jammu its area is 26293. The said population of the State is to be examined with due explanations of census commission to ascertain mechanism adopted to check the duplicities and fake counting as envisaged under section 5(5) of the Act 33 of 2002 for its satisfaction on facts correctness and bona-fides by raising population of 31,34904 in 1981 to 68,88,4.75 in 2011 besides taking in consideration the geographical positions and compactness of population of each area including the remoteness and backwardness in all spheres of life. The constituencies are to be distributed based on the criterion of geographical compactness, physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience; the assembly constituencies in Parliamentary constituencies reservation of seats for schedule castes and schedule tribes in the state where their respective population is at the largest. The consideration of all objections and suggestions which may have been received.
This Delimitation commission is expected to undo political injustice met out to the people of J&K especially, large population held in Jammu region in general, schedule castes, Schedule Tribes, Kashmir Pandits, West Pakistan Refugees, Gorkhas in Army services in State settled in J&K for the last over seven decades the kins of women married outside the state of J&K, Valmiki Smaj POJK Refuges settled outside the state of J&K but their right have totally been expunged. The kins of army-men laid down their lives gallantly for the sake of J&K having derived the benefits of scholoships ex-gratia payments from the state besides the establishment of Sanik colony in Kashmir Valley because of the arrogance and hypocratic conduct of Kashmir centric leaders. It was unfortunate that upon transfer of power to sheikh Abdullah on 5th March ‘1948 under coercion and undue pressure exercised on Maharaja by Pt Nehru to appease Sheikh Abdullah, the seeds of discrimination with Jammu region and besides non Muslims of Kashmir were sown including political injustices by unilaterly allocating 43 seats for Kashmir but whereas only 30 seats for Jammu by flouting all norms of delimitations including the spirit of Regent’s proclamation dated 1st May 1951.
There after only two Delimitation commissions one in 1975 purportedly based on cencus of 1971 headed by J.L Kapur and another on 4th April 1989 purportedly based on the census of the year 1981 were constituted. Both these twin Delimitation Commission did take no heed to carry its statutory obligations i.e to carry the delimitation of Assembly constituencies based on the criterion laid down under section5 of the J&K Representation of People Act 1957 instead went on to perpetuate its proceeding to please the politicians sitting at the helm of affairs for the last seven decades. Even the serious objections so raised by the Jammu based leaders viz Thakur Baldev Singh, Prof Chaman LaL Gupta, Shri Rishi Kumar Koushal leaders of Bhartiya Janta Party were put in dust bin. Based on the total votes of the state on which State Assembly elections during the year 2014 was held against total votes of 37, 62, 625 against which 21, 27, 645 polled 46 members of the legislative assembly were elected in Kashmir Provision. But where as against the total votes of 33,4953 37 members of Legislative Assembly were elected in Jammu provision which excludes the population of west Pakistan Refuges, Valmiki Samaj, Gorkhas of Nepal in army service of State, the kins of women married with the non residents of J&K etc who are mostly settled in Jammu region and if included the voters strength if not more but at par with Kashmir valley.
This Delimitation of the both Parliament and State Assembly seats is definitely bound to wash the past sins of the successive Govt. initiated by hijacking the democratic system of the state by Shiekh Abdullah being backed by Pt. Nehru in 1951 not only by creation of political discrimination in allocation of both Lok Sabha and State Assembly seats but by rejection of nomination papers of Non-NC candidates 46 out of 54 contesting candidates. The manner in which Farooq Abdullah stepped into the shoes of his father, keeping a barrier on the Delimitation of both Lok Sabha and State Assembly Elections by abuse of his constitutional authority by enforcing 29th state constitutional Amendment Act 2002 (on 23.04.2002) being glaring example of murder of democracy to deprive the people of the state the fruits of democracy through delimitation of assembly and Lok Sabha seats after the census of 1981 which were the damaging affects of Article 370 so undone by the Amendments and Re-organisations so came into play in 2019.
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