Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 26: It's not really known as to when the assembly elections in J&K will be held but the people in Jammu and Ladakh have started discussing the importance or otherwise of their vote. Reports from Ladakh suggest that the people of the region, especially Buddhists, do not want assembly elections to take place. They want the President's rule to continue for a longer period.
"If the state could be kept under Governor/President's Rule between January 19, 1990 and October 9, 1996, why can't it happen now? The Governor's rule/President's Rule has always been beneficial for us than the so-called popular rule under rulers from Kashmir. Why should we vote when the CM of the state has to be from Kashmir and from the majority community? It has been happening since 1952, when we voted for electing constituent-cum-legislative assembly. Ever since then, the CM of the state has been from the Kashmir's majority community and we have no say whatsoever in the governance of the state and in the civil secretariat where our presence is almost nil,' said a Ladakhi student, adding that "it was only during the President's Rule that Ladakh got Autonomous Hill Development Councils and a full-fledged university for the region".
"There should be no assembly elections in the state before Ladakh was granted Union Territory status," another Ladakhi student in Jammu University said.
The view in Jammu is no different. Here also majority of people want the President's Rule for a longer time, saying "the President's Rule in the state is a must to break the backbone of militants and weaken the control of vested interests in Kashmir over the state's administrative apparatus".
The general view in Jammu is: "We have been voting since 1952. What did we get in return? We always got a Kashmir-centric CM from Kashmir. Why should we vote when Jammu province, which is two-time that of Kashmir in terms of land area and has a population equal to Kashmir, if not more, can't have a CM from this region? Our vote is not for our empowerment; our vote is for the election or selection of a CM from Kashmir. We gave 25 seats to BJP in 2014 and the BJP bartered our mandate to make Mufti Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti CM of the state. It withdrew support to Mehbooba Mufti in June 2018 and then flirted with another Kashmiri, Sajad Lone, who had just 2 MLAs. Had the Governor not dissolved the assembly on November 21, Sajad Lone would have been the CM with the support of Jammu's 25 MLAs. This is not acceptable. We want continuation of the President's Rule and also reorganization of the state so that we could elect a CM from our own region. If states like Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar and Rajasthan can have CMs from the minority community, why can J&K have a CM belonging to the minority community? Reorganization of the state is the only panacea available".
What the Ladakhis say and what the people of Jammu opine just can't be brushed aside. They do make a valid point. It is a fact that the CM of the state has always been from Kashmir and from the Kashmir's majority community. |
