Full Panel holds meeting in New Delhi
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 24: The Delimitation Commission headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai today met in New Delhi to discuss suggestions/objections submitted by five Associate Members and is understood to have accepted some of them.
On February 14, the Associate Members from BJP and National Conference had submitted a series of suggestions/objections to the draft report presented to them by the Commission in Parliament on February 4.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Commission which met this morning is reported to have accepted certain suggestions/objections to their draft report given by five Associate Members and will be incorporating them in their report to be put in public domain.
The Associate Members are Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma, both Lok Sabha members from Jammu division and Dr Farooq Abdullah, Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi, the three NC MPs from Kashmir valley.
The Delimitation Commission meeting chaired by Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai was attended by Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra, State Election Commissioner KK Sharma and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Hirdesh Kumar.
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Officials said that Delimitation Commission discussed at length on the suggestions given by five Associate Members.
“We had discussed point by point. After a wide range of discussions, the Commission has accepted certain suggestions given by five Associate members. Now we will go back to Associate members and will inform the decision that is made today,” an official said.
Suggestions of the Associate Members were submitted to the Delimitation Commission on February 14. Associate members were asked to give their suggestions on the draft report prepared by Delimitation Commission.
The BJP had sought restoration of Suchetgarh Assembly constituency which was merged with RS Pura and Bishnah by the Panel in its draft report and de-reservation of at least one of the three Assembly constituencies in Poonch district as all three were reserved for Scheduled Tribes. It had also given series of other suggestions also.
The National Conference while questioning the very constitution of the Delimitation Commission had, however, also gave some suggestion on redrawing of boundaries of Anantnag-Poonch Parliamentary constituency and Assembly seats in the Valley.
The Commission is now scheduled to meet the Associate Members again before putting its report in the public domain for claims/objections by political parties, organizations and individuals.
The Delimitation Commission was set up on March 6, 2020, and was given a one-year extension last year. Earlier this month, it was given two months extension till May 6 to complete the exercise of redrawing Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Centre extended the term of the Commission by two months by amending the notification issued on March 6, 2020.
Now, the panel’s term will end on May 6. The Delimitation Commission has held two meetings with the Associate Members on February 18 and December 20 last year. While the first meeting was boycotted by the three National Conference MPs, they attended the second meeting.
As per the preliminary proposal of the Delimitation Commission, the number of seats in the Jammu region will be increased from the existing 37 to 43, while Kashmir will have one additional seat, taking its tally to 47 seats from the current 46.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 notified by the Government on August 9, 2019, paved the way for the creation of two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, which will have a Legislature and Ladakh, without it.
The Act provides that the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall be increased from 107 to 114, and delimitation of the constituencies will be determined by the Election Commission.
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