Referring to repeated statements made by state and central BJP leaders after re-organization of the state on August 5 assuring early delimitation of Assembly constituency in J&K, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh JKNPP Chairman and former Minister regretted that all such utterances have also proved to be mere “Jumlas”. He reminisced that BJP had made tall claims of increasing the seats in the newly created J&K UT to 90 and enhancing the share of Jammu region through delimitation exercise. This assurance, like various other tall slogans of the BJP, has also been reduced to a mere chest thumping exercise with no initiative whatsoever taken by the govt to initiate the process, rued Singh.
“The process of delimitation in the UT can commence only after amendment of J&K Re-organization Act which has barred such process till the first casus after the year 2026”, said Singh. He pointed out that sec 63 of the JK Re-organization Act unambiguously stated that delimitation could not take place until the census figures for the year 2026 were published. Quoting the said provision in the Re-organization Act, Mr. Singh said that sec 63 stated that “Notwithstanding anything contained in sec 59 to 61, until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published, it shall not be necessary to readjust the division of successor union territory of Jammu and Kashmir into assembly and Parliamentary constituencies…..”. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
“The BJP however had repeatedly claimed to hold early delimitation which could be possible only by amending sec 63 of the J&K Re-organization Act. But the said provision had not been amended even in the last session of the Parliament. The loud mouthed dunderheads of BJP therefore appeared to be indulging in absurd histrionics without ascertaining the legal position on the subject. It is appalling to note that not only state but central BJP leadership was also cheating the people of J&K during the past five months in the name of delimitation without addressing the issue in the proper perspective”, deplored Singh.