Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 5: Brig. (retd) Anil Gupta, spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP) Jammu & Kashmir, has condemned the oft repeated statements being made by the Opposition parties like Congress, National Conference & PDP regarding the new J&K Assembly members to be nominated by the Lieutenant Governor immediately after the announcement of the elections.
Brig. Gupta stated that there are two Union Territories in India including J&K which have Legislative Assemblies. Puducherry Assembly in an Act passed by the Parliament in 1963 was constituted of 33 members in which 30 are elected members and three are nominated members to be nominated by the Government of India. Following the similar pattern, in order to give representation to the Kashmiri Pandits, women and PoJK Refugees of J&K, the Government of India in 2023 issued a notification for five nominated members to be part of the J&K Assembly in addition to the 90 elected members. The Act also clearly states that these members will be nominated by the LG on behalf of the Central Government as per the directions of the Government of India. These nominated members enjoy same powers as elected members of the Assembly.
Despite the Act being very clear on subject, the opposition parties are creating unnecessary ruckus on the issue to mislead the public. Brig. Gupta stated that since a certain defeat is staring at faces, the opposition parties are now trying to find excuses for their defeat and mislead the public by making an issue out of a non-issue.
Brig. Gupta further amplified that the case has already ruled favourably by the Supreme Court with regard to the nominated members of Puducherry Assembly. In 2021, the Supreme Court of India clarified two important aspects related to the nomination of the MLAs. The first one is about nomination. The court held that as per the 1963 Act the Government of India is empowered to nominate the MLAs even without consulting the UT Government. The second one is about the voting power of the nominated MLAs. The court held that nominated MLAs enjoy voting powers at par with elected MLAs, as the 1963 law per se did not differentiate between the nominated MLAs from the elected ones. Thus the fuss being created by Gupkaris is unjustified and misleading, asserted Brig. Gupta.
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