Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 19: Referring to the nomination of Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra as a member of Delimitation Commission for J&K by CEC, JKNPP chairman and former minister Harshdev Singh has called upon the Union Govt to amend the J&K Re-organization Act as well prior to the nomination of the other two members of the said Commission.
In a press statement today Singh said while the ECI has acted upon the advice of the MHA, the much needed initiative on the part of Govt was conspicuously missing. The Delimitation of Assemblies could commence only after the amendment of Section 63 of J&K Re-organization Act of 2019 which has expressly barred any such exercise until the relevant figures for first census after the year 2026 were published. He said that identical provision exists in Art 170 of the Constitution of India which has now become applicable to the UT of J&K after abolition of Art 370.
Elaborating his point, Singh said that Art 170 of the Constitution was amended vide 84th Constitution Amendment passed by the Parliament in 2001 during AB Vajpayee regime which froze the number of seats of Legislative Assemblies of various States and barred any re-adjustments of Assembly constitutions till first census after 2026. He said that after the incorporation of the said provision in Constitution of India, the number of seats were frozen all across the country including J&K by virtue of an identical provision inserted in the JK State laws.
He revealed that NPP had challenged the said law in the High Court and subsequently in the Supreme Court seeking Delimitation of Assembly constitutions in the State of J&K by questioning the embargo on the holding of such exercise. It was ironical that the Govt was talking of holding delimitation without making necessary amendments in the relevant laws.
Asserting that Delimitation of Assembly constituencies was essential to remove regional disparities and political imbalances, Singh charged the BJP Govt with adopting a casual approach over the most significant issue of Jammu region. He expressed the hope that proposed Delimitation would be taken to its logical conclusion and would not prove to be another ‘Jumla’ of BJP.
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