x

Like our Facebook Page

   
Early Times Newspaper Jammu, Leading Newspaper Jammu
 
Breaking News :   Forces thwart Pak’s Hamas-style attack on Jammu | In Pak terrorists are given state funerals: Foreign Secretary | Terror nexus exposed: Al-Qaeda backs Pak | Jammu mosques, madrassas open for displaced border residents | Amid cross border shelling, CM Omar reviews situation in border districts | Breeding Ground for fidayeen, links to Hamas, stockpiled NATO arms | PM meets secretaries, stresses on alertness | Masood Azhar’s brother killed: BJP | LG Sinha chairs high-level meeting, reviews preparedness | Army uses Harpy drones to target enemy air defence systems | Pak attempts to attack 15 places in North, Western India foiled | 100 terrorists, aides killed in strikes: Rajnath at All-Party Meeting | SDRF conducts Mock Drill Exercise at IIT Jammu | Developed India strikes back at provocateurs by entering their hideouts: CM Yogi | Cash Row: CJI recommends impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma, says sources | Amit terms AI as biggest disruptive tech of 21st Century in MZU National Workshop | Salman Sagar appointed as vice provincial president of JKNC | SET exam in J&K, Ladakh UTs postponed | ASCOMS & Hospital to provide free treatment to border shelling victims | Rs 300 crore BrahMos Missile Unit set to be inaugurated in Lucknow on May 11 | Any military attack on India will be met with very firm response: EAM Jaishankar | Vivek Bali Expresses Deep Grief Over Loss of Lives in Poonch Due to Pakistan Shelling | Reasi police foil illegal transportation of Khair logs in Katra area | 84 Bn CRPF Provides Relief to Flood-Affected Families | DC Jammu Reviews Zonal Master Plan for Ramnagar Eco-Sensitive Zone | Horticulture Department Kathua organises exposure visit | DC conducts on site inspection of restoration works on NH-44 | Power shut down in several areas | GMC Doda organises Blood Donation Camp | HPS participates in annual “Save Water, Save Birds” campaign | World Red Cross Day observed at Udhampur | Reasi Administration celebrates World Red Cross Day | ACR reviews implementation of E-Waste Management Action Plan | Poonch Administration steps up restoration of Essential Services, Supplies | Arushi Kotwal of Doda Honoured by Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya | Mini-Super Bazar M-PACS Maitra inaugurated in Ramban | DC Reasi felicitates JK Board Class 10th 12th Toppers | Back Issues  
 
news details
Ladakh LG assures transparency in Kargil Council polls, defends court battle against 'Plough' symbol to NC
9/15/2023 9:52:00 PM
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Sept 15: Assuring the people of Kargil a free and fair hill council election next month, Ladakh Lt Governor Brigadier (Retd) B D Mishra has defended his adminstration's protracted but unsuccessful battle in the courts against the granting of the 'plough' symbol to the National Conference.
He rejected as "totally wrong" allegations that he was biased or was working at the behest of BJP. On September 6, the Supreme Court set aside the August 5 notification of the election department of the Union Territory of Ladakh for the hill council polls and ordered the issuance of a fresh election schedule within a week.
Holding that the National Conference is entitled to the 'plough' symbol, a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah also dismissed the plea by the Ladakh administration opposing the allotment of the symbol to the party and imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on the dispensation.
National Conference vice president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the Supreme Court order and said the BJP and the Ladakh administration "did everything possible" to deny them their right, but the court saw through it.
The election to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil is now scheduled for October 4 as per the fresh notification issued by the Ladakh election department.
"I am a worshipper of the Constitution of India and I have taken an oath to defend, preserve and protect it. I am a devotee of democracy and therefore I am a watchman for free and fair elections. It is my resolve that free and fair elections should take place," Brigadier (Retd) Mishra told PTI-Video in an exclusive interview in Jammu.
The Lt Governor said he is monitoring the entire election process including the deployment of staff to ensure elections are held in a "free and fair" manner.
"It is all being taken care of and I can assure (the people) that the hill council elections will be absolutely 100 percent free, fair and timely," he said.
On the National Conference's accusations the he was biased, Mishra said, "it is a totally wrong statement or a wrong insinuation." "I am the Lt Governor there (in Ladakh) and to me every party is the same. I am having no brief, suggestion or instruction from any party… responsible parties know that in a democracy, elections have to be free and fair and it has to be decided by laws, rules and regulations.
"So I am not having any brief from anybody, which is the first thing. And secondly, if somebody is saying that I am having a brief, it is totally a lie. I do not entertain such a statement because these are incorrect," the Lt Governor said.
The army veteran said he studied everything before the elections as he knew such issues may come up.
"When I studied and discussed it with my secretaries and everybody, the issue of reserving any symbol for a party was not there. So then I consulted the legal luminaries at Delhi and even I consulted very senior people, advocates who are there for the government. They said the election symbol can be reserved by the election commission of India and not by the UT government," he said.
The Lt Governor said he took the decision after self study and on the basis of the advice he got.
"The case went to high court, but once I had studied everything and once I had all the free and frank opinions from very learned advocates, I thought I had to contest it (the decision of the court).
"The advocates said what UT has decided is correct and therefore I had to go through the legal process. I could not have left it halfway because that would have (given a notion) that I don't have conviction. I had conviction, I had honesty, I had studied and I was convinced that the decision was correct. Therefore, I had to go through the legal process," he said.
  Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network  
  Comment on this Story  
 
 
 
Early Times Android App
STOCK UPDATE
  
BSE Sensex
NSE Nifty
 
CRICKET UPDATE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Home About Us Top Stories Local News National News Sports News Opinion Editorial ET Cetra Advertise with Us ET E-paper
 
 
J&K RELATED WEBSITES
J&K Govt. Official website
Jammu Kashmir Tourism
JKTDC
Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board
Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board
Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board
UTILITY
Train Enquiry
IRCTC
Matavaishnodevi
BSNL
Jammu Kashmir Bank
State Bank of India
PUBLIC INTEREST
Passport Department
Income Tax Department
JK CAMPA
JK GAD
IT Education
Web Site Design Services
EDUCATION
Jammu University
Jammu University Results
JKBOSE
Kashmir University
IGNOU Jammu Center
SMVDU