Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 6: Strongly denouncing the delimitation report as biased, irregular and disfiguringly defective, JKNPP Chairman Harsh Dev Singh said that incarcerated Jammu region seemed to have been perennially assigned the role of second class citizenry in the erstwhile State.
“While 47 seats had been allocated for Kashmir against 43 for Jammu region, the imbalance in Parliament was allowed to continue with a portion of Jammu region having been annexed with Anantnag Parliament seat of Kashmir,” he said while talking to media persons, here today.
Harsh Dev Singh further alleged that Jammu region’s share in Assembly and Parliament seats was wilfully kept less than that of Kashmir despite repeated assurances of ensuring parity whereas the Dogra land was sought to be obliged through the most novel mechanism of providing it more than 90 percent of the total reserved seats in the UT.
He said that out of 16 reserved seats for ST’s and SC’s, 13 reserved seats were allocated to Jammu region as against only 3 reserved seats for Kashmir. “Not only that several areas of Jammu region which had remained reserved for 27 years, since the last delimitation exercise of 1995, were again included in reserved constituencies thereby defeating the very objective behind rotation of seats at the time of every fresh delimitation,” he added.
Pointing towards some of the instances, Mr Singh said that Dudu, Jakhed, Sira, Kullakh, Pattangarh, Barmeen-Satyalta areas had remained a part of SC reserved constituency of Chenani for the last 27 years and now included in Ramnagar which had been declared reserved for SC.
He said that there were several areas which had been similarly treated giving rise to massive resentment therein amongst the masses. “Likewise, the delineation of new Assembly constituencies was done in the most haphazard manner without taking the ground situation into account. The delimitation appeared to have been done to suit the political expediencies of the ruling party rather than the convenience of the common masses,” he alleged.
Drawing attention towards the inclusion of Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region in Anantnag constituency of Kashmir division, Mr Singh said that it was the most obnoxious and intriguing aspect of the delimitation exercise. It was most abhorrable attempt to break J&K on communal lines in conformity with the recommendations made in the nasty Dixon plan, he said.
Gagan Pratap Singh, JKNPP Secretary, was also present in the press conference.
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