Central Government Expresses Readiness for J&K Polls, Yet Unable to Commit to Definite Timeline for Statehood Restoration: Supreme Court Informed
31-08-2023 : Prepared for the impending polls within the region of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Central government has conveyed to the Supreme Court its willingness for election arrangements at any point in time. However, the government has clarified that it is unable to provide a precise timetable for the restoration of full statehood to J&K. This disclosure was made by the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, during a session with a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Mehta emphasized that the current Union Territory (UT) status of J&K is indeed temporary, and while the eventual reinstatement of its full statehood is a certainty, he expressed limitations in forecasting an exact duration for the transition. He clarified that the UT status serves as an interim measure. The Supreme Court, during the hearing involving a series of petitions contesting the abrogation of J&K’s special status and its reclassification as a Union Territory, had specifically requested a clear timeline from the Central government pertaining to the attainment of statehood and the scheduling of elections within the region.
Underlining the government’s readiness for conducting elections at any feasible time, the Solicitor General informed the court that the ongoing process of updating the voters’ list within J&K is currently in progress. He estimated that the completion of this voter list update would necessitate approximately another month to finalize. He elaborated that a significant portion of the voter list update has already been accomplished, with only a minor section remaining, which is being overseen by the Election Commission.
Regarding the orchestration of elections, the Solicitor General indicated that a joint decision would be made by both the State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India. Mehta went on to explain that elections for the Ladakh Hill Development Council and Leh have already concluded, while polls in Kargil are slated for the upcoming month. Additionally, elections for the Panchayats, Municipalities, and Legislative Assembly remain pending within the region.
Further, Centre tells Supreme Court that terrorist instances have reduced by 45.2% compared from 2018 to 2023 and infiltration reduced by 90%. Law and order issues like stone pelting etc. reduced by 97%, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta says. Security personnel casualty is reduced by 65%. Stone pelting instances in 2018 were 1,767, it is nil now. Organised bandhs in 2018 were 52 and now it is nil, Centre to SC as per sources
More details awaited.
