J&K Delimitation Commission proposes 6 more seats for Jammu, 1 for Kashmir, draws flak from Omar Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah (File image)

The Delimitation Commission on Jammu and Kashmir has proposed six additional seats for the Jammu region and one for the Kashmir Valley, reports said on December 20.

With the draft recommendation, the total seats in Jammu will increase to 43 and in the Kashmir Valley to 47.

Of the total seats, the panel has proposed nine for the Scheduled Tribes and seven for the Scheduled Castes. Sources said twenty-four seats will remain vacant for the POK. The Associate members have been asked to submit their suggestions by December 31, according to reports.

READ: Explained | Delimitation in J&K : Here is all you need to know about the exercise

The meeting of the panel on December 20 was attended by five Associate members, Jugal Kishore and Dr Jitendra Singh of the BJP and three MPs from the National Conference - Farooq Abdullah, Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi and Mohammad Akbar Lone.

The Commission has come out with a document that is objectively prepared. All associated members regardless of parties appreciated work done by Delimitation Commission. NC members were also satisfied by parameters followed by the Commission: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh pic.twitter.com/SoqF7A1JY4

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— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2021

“The Commission has come out with a document that is objectively prepared. All associated members, regardless of parties, appreciated the work done by the Delimitation Commission. NC members were also satisfied by parameters followed by the commission,” Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh told news agency ANI.

The commission is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and also comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra as an ex-officio member and the Jammu and Kashmir chief electoral officer. The commission has time till March 6 to redraw the boundaries and create new assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the Union Territory.

The UT’s regional parties, including the National Conference and the PDP, have expressed apprehensions about the recommendations, calling them "unacceptable".

The draft recommendation of the J&K delimitation commission is unacceptable. The distribution of newly created assembly constituencies with 6 going to Jammu & only 1 to Kashmir is not justified by the data of the 2011 census.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) December 20, 2021

“The draft recommendation of the J&K Delimitation Commission is unacceptable. The distribution of newly created assembly constituencies with six going to Jammu and only one to Kashmir is not justified by the data of the 2011 census,” NC leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said.

Also, read: Delimitation Commission in J&K : Barring PDP all political parties to participate in discussions

The panel had visited the UT in July last year. All parties, except Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP, had met the panel members then. The visit came less than two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met 14 leaders from Jammu and Kashmir on June 24.

PDP chief and former CM Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the recommendations. She alleged that the commission had been created simply to serve the BJP's political interests to divide people along the religious and regional lines.

My apprehensions about the Delimitation Commission werent misplaced. They want to pitch people against each other by ignoring the population census & preposing 6 seats for one region & only one for Kashmir. https://t.co/Dbs1Mny3iE

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) December 20, 2021

“My apprehensions about the Delimitation Commission weren't misplaced. They want to pitch people against each other by ignoring the population census and preposing six seats for one region and only one for Kashmir,” she said in a tweet.

The Delimitation Commission was constituted and asked to carve out Assembly and Parliament seats in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

Jammu and Kashmir has been under the Centre’s rule since June 19, 2018, following the collapse of the coalition government headed by Mehbooba Mufti after the BJP withdrew its support.