Delimitation Commission proposes six more assembly seats for Jammu, one for Kashmir; National Conference says proposals unacceptable

The Delimitation Commission tasked with redrawing assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir has proposed increasing assembly seats in Jammu region by six to 43 and in Kashmir region from 46 to 47. While BJP said the proposals have been made after due diligence, National Conference termed them "unacceptable".

Some other parties in Jammu and Kashmir also opposed the proposals.

The Delimitation Commission also proposed reserving nine seats for Scheduled Tribes and seven seats for Scheduled Castes in the Union Territory.

NC leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah termed the draft recommendation of the Commission as "unacceptable".

"The distribution of newly created assembly constituencies with 6 going to Jammu and only 1 to Kashmir is not justified by the data of the 2011 census," he said in a tweet.

"It is deeply disappointing that the commission appears to have allowed the political agenda of the BJP to dictate its recommendations rather than the data which should have been its only consideration. Contrary to the promised 'scientific approach' it's a political approach," he added.

National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi also opposed the proposals.

"We were shown a preliminary report on this. It is totally unacceptable for us. We have been asked by the Commission to give our objection in writing by December 31. It is disproportionate. The 2011 census suggested that more seats should be allotted to Kashmir," Masoodi stated.

The NC MP also said that the delimitation is against the "Constitution" and the matter is in Supreme Court so the judgement is awaited.

"We presented our view and Delimitation is against constitution and matter is in SC and we should have waited for the judgement," he added.

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) provincial spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar, said the proposals were unacceptable in the present form.

"We are not against the reservation but these draft recommendations are biased. It is not acceptable in the current form. Earlier also, we continuously said that delimit the regions on the basis of a common principle which is based on population," Dar said.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that the NC leaders got satisfied with the parameters that are being followed by the Commission.

"All the associate members committed themselves to cooperate with the functioning of the Commission. The Commission has done a tremendous job. We must appreciate they had followed certain laid down parameters on the basis of which they have come out with the documents which are very objectively done," the minister told the media persons today.

"The associated members regardless of their party and political affiliations not only appreciated the work done by the Delimitation Commission but also committed that they would in the future also extend their cooperation for the rest of the exercise," Singh said.

Lauding the proposals, Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ravinder Raina said the commission prepared the detailed report after analysing everything.

"The Commission worked hard and met political leaders of NC regularly. It prepared a detailed report after analysing everything. I think they have done a good job," Raina said.

"Some political parties including PDP's Mehbooba Mufti, former CM Omar Abdullah and Congress always stay away from facts and realities," he alleged. The PDP has also opposed the proposals. The Commission, headed by Justice (retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai, held its second meeting here and it was attended by associate members from Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Election Commissioner was also present. "For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, a total of nine seats are proposed to be allocated for Scheduled Tribes out of 90 seats on the basis of population and seven seats are proposed for Scheduled Castes," the Commission said in a press release.

It explained the criteria used for forming the draft recommendations of allocating additional assembly seats to Jammu and Kashmir and said that it categorized all 20 districts into three broad categories on the basis of the average population.

"The Commission explained that taking all these into account, it has categorized all 20 districts in three broad categories A, B and C giving a margin of 10 per cent of average population per Assembly Constituency (AC) while proposing an allocation of the constituencies to the districts," the press release said.

The release said that the Commission has also, for some districts, proposed carving out of an additional constituency to balance the representation for geographical areas having inadequate communication and lack of public conveniences due to their inhospitable conditions on the international border.

Dr Jitendra Singh, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah along with party leaders Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi and BJP's Jugal Kishore Sharma, all MPs from Jammu and Kashmir, took part in the meeting.The first meeting of the commission was held on February 18, 2021.Chief Election Commissioner, in his remarks, shared the experiences of the commission interacting with people in Jammu and Kashmir during its visit and emphasized that the work of delimitation is being carried out within the overall statutory framework and keeping the the interest of common people of the Union Territory.

He highlighted Section 9(1)(a) of the Delimitation Act, 2002 read with Section 60(2)(b) of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which specifies that all constituencies shall, as far as practicable, be geographically compact areas, and regard shall be had to physical features.

The release said that associate members also appreciated the fact that the commission visited the Union Territory and met a large number of people. "They assured that all necessary assistance would be extended in the work of delimitation," it said..Chandra Bhushan Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner gave a detailed presentation on the work done. He informed that in the Union Territory, since the last delimitation, the number of districts has increased from 12 to 20 and the number of tehsils from 52 to 207. The population density in the districts here varies from 29 persons per square km in Kishtwar to 3,436 persons per square km in Srinagar.

The administration has been allocating compensatory allowance to government officials working in the specific areas on grounds of the remoteness of the place, its inaccessibility, severe inclement weather conditions, its remaining cut off from the rest of the state (now Union Territory) for a period of time, lack and gross inadequacy of medical, educational, residential and other basic amenities of life, its health hazards and similar other rigorous conditions of living.

The Union Territory also shares international boundary and in those locations, the inhabitants are forced to take shelter, intermittently, bunkers due to continued inhospitable and uncertain living conditions, the press note further read.

The Commission shared Paper I describing the proposed seat allocation at the level of districts with all the members. They have been requested their views or suggestions by December 31, 2021.

Twenty four seats in the assembly continue to remain vacant as they fall in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

( With inputs from ANI )