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| Modi govt may set up delimitation commission to increase Jammu's representation | | Right step in right direction | |  Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 4: In a move that could have a massive impact on the polity of the Jammu and Kashmir, the Central Government is reportedly thinking in terms of lifting the freeze on delimitation in the state. It was in February 2002, the then Farooq Abdullah had banned delimitation of Assembly constituencies at least till 2035 through a constitutional amendment. The PDP, the Congress, the BJP and the CPI-M lawmakers and all independent MLAs from Kashmir had voted for the anti-Jammu amendment.
A report has also revealed that "Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday permitted J&K Governor SP Malik to constitute delimitation commission".
The widely reported move could result in increase in the representation of Jammu in the J&K assembly, thereby raising the prospects of the state getting its first Chief Minister, who does not hail from the Kashmir region. Jammu would get 47 seats as against 37 it at present has in the 87-member assembly and the number of seats of Kashmir will decrease by 10 seats. Jammu could get 5 additional seats on the basis of population and 5 seats on the basis of the other laid down criteria by the Representation of People's Act: Nature of terrain, land area and accessibility. The number of voters in Kashmir and Jammu is almost equal. Kashmir has 40 lakh, which also include 1.25 lakh internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindu voters and the number of voters in Jammu is almost 38 lakh.
At present Kashmir sends more legislators to the J&K assembly than the Jammu. Kashmir sends 46 members to the 87-member assembly and Jammu only 37 despite the fact that the area of Jammu is two time that of Kashmir and number of voters almost equal. Ladakh sends 4. Kashmir also returns more members to Lok Sabha as compared to Jammu. Kashmir returns three members and Jammu only two.
According to reports, "closed door meetings are being held in the Home Ministry in this regard". "The Home Secretary is reportedly conferring with the J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik," the reports further said. The Intelligence Bureau chief "is also the part of the secret deliberations that are going on".
As per the reports, "Kashmir continues to dominate the polity of the Jammu and Kashmir due to the majority seats it has got in the state assembly".
If the reports emanating from New Delhi are any indication, then it can be said that Jammu & Kashmir State will get a Chief Minister from Jammu, even a Hindu.
The reported move has rattled Kashmiri leaders, including PDP chief and former CM Mehbooba Mufti. She has gone to the extent of saying that the delimitation of assembly constituencies would cause an emotional separation. She has in fact tweeted and her tweet reads: "Distressed to hear about GoIs plan to redraw assembly constituencies in J&K. Forced delimitation is an obvious attempt to inflict another emotional partition of the state on communal lines. Instead of allowing old wounds to heal, GoI is inflicting pain on Kashmiris". |
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