With politics over the proposed allocation of Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir continuing to heat up, National Conference (NC) is submitting its dissent note to the Delimitation Commission on Friday while on Saturday, the PAGD is holding a demonstration against recent recommendations of the commission.
NC Members of Parliament — Farooq Abdullah, Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi — who are associate members of the commission, are submitting their dissent note over the proposed allocation of six additional Assembly seats to Jammu and only one to Kashmir by the commission.
In its December 20 meeting in New Delhi, the commission, headed by Justice (retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai, had shared the draft proposal with associate members, which, besides three NC MPs, include two members from the BJP, namely MP and Union Minister Jitendra Singh and MP Jugal Kishor Sharma.
Besides proposing six additional seats for Jammu and one for Kashmir, the panel also reserved 16 constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This triggered strong protests from Kashmir-based parties, such as the NC, which made it clear that it would not sign the report in its present form.
Political parties, including the NC and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have opposed the proposal, saying it reeks of bias and partisan approach.
The PAGD, a grouping of Kashmir parties led by Farooq Abdullah, which was formed in October 2020 to strive for the restoration of statehood and the special status of J&K, termed the commission's proposal “divisive that will deepen alienation.” The alliance is holding a peaceful demonstration on January 1 to protest against the recommendations of the commission.
Kashmir division currently has 46 seats and Jammu 37. The population of the Jammu region is 53.72 lakh and Kashmir division 68.83 lakh, according to the 2011 census.
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