NC rejects Centre’s Delimitation Commission

Unwilling to accept events of August 5

30/05/2020



SRINAGAR, May 29: The National Conference (NC) on Friday rejected the Delimitation Commission announced by the Centre recently for Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the party's three members of Parliament will not participate in it.
In a statement, the NC, led by former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said: "With reference to the recently announced Delimitation Commission announced by the Government of India, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference today rejects this process and its three members of Parliament will not participate in the said commission." The party added: "This delimitation commission is a product of the J&K Re-organisation Act 2019, which the JKNC is challenging in and outside the Supreme Court. Participating in this delimitation Commission will be tantamount to accepting the events of 5th August 2019, which the NC is unwilling to do."
"According to the Constitution of J&K, the constituencies of J&K were to be delimited in 2026 with the rest of the country. The constituencies in the State were last delimited in the '90s. Thereafter, an amendment was made in the constitution of J&K unanimously passed in the State Assembly in which all the regional parties, Congress and BJP voted for this amendment to go with the delimitation with rest of the country in 2026. Therefore, the Constitution of the delimitation commission is unwarranted," the statement added.
Three National Conference MPs, including party president Farooq Abdullah, had on Tuesday been nominated as associate members of the commission which will undertake delimitation in the newly-created union territory of Jammu and Kashmir where the number of seats in the legislative assembly is to be increased from 107 to 114, out of which 24 are reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, meaning in effect the number of assembly seats will go up from 83 to 90.
Rejecting "this process", the NC said the commission is a product of JK Reorganisation Act 2019, which the party is challenging "in and outside the Hon'ble Supreme Court".
"Participating in the commission would be tantamount to accepting the events of August 5, 2019 which the NC is unwilling to do," the party said in a statement.
It added that besides Abdullah, two other party MPs -- Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi -- will not participate in the commission.
The party maintained that as per the Constitution of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, "the constituencies of JK were to be delimited in 2026 with the rest of the country. The constituencies in the state were last delimited in the 90s.
"Thereafter an amendment was made in the constitution of JK unanimously passed in the state Assembly in which all the regional parties, Congress and BJP voted for this amendment to go with the delimitation....in 2026. Therefore the constitution of the delimitation commission is unwarranted," the statement added.
Apart from three NC parliamentarians, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has nominated 12 other MPs from Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur as Associate Members to assist the commission. The MPs include two union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Jitendra Singh.

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