Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 16: “The Kashmiri Pandits have the biggest stake in the delimitation process in the Jammu and Kashmir. They are the worst victims of gerrymandering in the world, executed in the Kashmir Valley by all the Kashmir centric political parties”, said Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, senior BJP and Kashmiri Pandit leader and incharge, Department of Political Affairs and Feedback, J&K-BJP.
He was speaking in the Webinar organised by VASUK Group-Conferencing on the topic, “Kashmiri Pandits & Delimitation: Our Response”. It was convened by Sandeep Kisroo and was attended among others by Prof. S.K.Raina, Jeevan Zutshi, Utpal Kaul, Yoginder Kaul, R.K.Mattoo, Vijay Kashkari, Virender Raina, Pulkit Chrungoo, Shivdass Raina, Ashok Chrungoo, Arvind Shah, Dr. M.K.Bharat, Sanjay Raina and Sameer Bhat.
Chrungoo in his presentation made it clear that the huge turn-out in the DDC elections is a clear signal of the urge of the people for peace, progress and development.
He said there can’t be two opinions about the facts of discrimination and bias against the region of Jammu in respect of delimitation earlier which allotted three seats to the Kashmir Valley and two seats only to the Jammu region for the Parliament in addition to giving 46 Assembly seats to Kashmir and 37 seats to Jammu division. This was and remains a violation of the fundamental rights in terms of equality and equal opportunities.
“The Kashmiri Pandits who are living as refugees for the last over three decades, have very meager chances to get its representatives elected to the politically important forums. They need attention and redressal through the Delimitation Commission”.
Utpal Kaul, Vijay Kashkari, R.K.Mattoo and Yoginder Kaul maintained that there was no member of the Pandit community in the all important Public Service Commission of the J&K for the last one decade, nor has been even a single Minister from them in the Government for the last over a decade, there is no possibility of being represented, for the indigenous people of the State, in the Parliament, neither is there any mechanism to nominate them to the important political positions either at the Centre or in the UT. Pandits are a politically victimised community and the ethnic cleansing in 1989-90 has added to and multiplied their woes.
What remained undone was done by the irrelevant practice of M-Forms during the elections all these three decades. It is time that five Assembly seats are reserved for this victim nationalist community.
Follow our WhatsApp channel