Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 13: Claiming that the recently held Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir were in violation of the Constitutional provisions, All Jammu & Kashmir Gujjar-Bakarwal Co-ordination Committee has appealed Lt Governor not to administer oath to the `so-called’ elected members from the nine constituencies reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
Talking to media persons, here today, Chairman of the Co-ordination Committee, Advocate Mohammad Anwar Chowdhary said that Surankote, Mendhar, Budhal, Thannamandi, Rajouri, Gulabgarh, Kangan, Kokernag and Gurez constituencies were in fact reserved only for the Scheduled Tribe people who were declared ST in 1991 and not for those accorded ST status in 2024.
“These nine constituencies were reserved on the Delimitation Commission’s recommendation made in 2022 according to the last census held in 2011 and hence those communities, which were granted ST Status in 2024 and provided 10 percent separate reservation from the earlier Scheduled Tribes were not eligible to contest on these seats as they were not STs as per the last census,” he explained.
The Gujjar-Bakarwal leader alleged that Chief Electoral Officer of J&K and concerned District Election Officers committed a great blunder by accepting the Election Forms of the people who had no entitlement to contest on these reserved constituencies.
“Since the nomination papers of non-eligible candidates for these constituencies were accepted, hence elections were held in violation of the Constitutional provisions and basic laws,” he added.
Anwar Chowdhary said that the Gujjar leaders have submitted a memorandum in this regard to the LT Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha and copies of the same have been forwarded to Ministries of Home, ST SCs, Chief Election Commission of India and Chief Electoral Officers of J&K. In the memorandum, he added, the Gujjars of J&K have implored upon the Lt Governor not to notify and administer oath to the so-called elected members from these ST reserved constituencies.
The Gujjar leader also demanded that Chief Electoral Officer of J&K should be directed to produce whole record of these constituencies for scrutiny as to how such a big constitutional blunder has happened.
“In case, the LG fails to discharge his Constitutional duty to check such a fraud on the Constitution, the community will have no other option other than to approach the J&K High Court and Supreme Court of India for redressal of their grievances,” said Anwar Chowdhary.
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