Nothing short of equal assembly seats for Jammu region acceptable: Harsh
Jammu, 17-12-2021: Seeking justice to the hitherto deprived Jammu region in the ongoing process of delimitation of assembly constituencies. Mr. Harsh Dev Singh chairman of JKNPP and former minister said that nothing short of equal seats for the region shall be acceptable He said that the meeting of the delimitation commission with associate members being held on December 20 was expected to end all political bias against the Jammu region and provide justice to both regions by ensuring parity of assembly seats between the two provinces. He said that the primary objective behind the delimitation of assembly constituencies being the rectification of political imbalance in the allocation of seats, it was expected that the sentiments of various aspirational groups would be duly addressed. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
Asserting that the delimitation exercise was governed mainly by the two factors namely population and geographical area. Mr. Singh called for due weightage to each of the said determinants. While the Kashmir region had a slightly higher population than the Jammu region, the geographical area of the latter was almost twice that of the former. If we consider the population ratio of J&K excluding Ladakh as per the 2011 census, Kashmir province has the marginal edge of 12% over the Jammu region but as far as the Geographical area of 1&K UT is concerned, Jammu province has 62% of the total area of J&K comprising rough and tough terrain with poor accessibility. Therefore, collating the statistical facts Jarunu region deserved a higher number of Assembly seats than Kashmir” elucidated Harsh. He said that a deputation of NPP had very well apprised the Delimitation commission about the facts during its visit to J&K earlier this year. We had submitted the plea to the Commission that there should be at least parity between the Assembly seats of both the regions. Keeping this in view, out of the proposed 90 Assembly seats to be reorganized, carved, and recreated in the entire UT of J&K, 45 each should be allocated to both Jammu and Kashmir regions. Our plea and rationale were acknowledged and endorsed by the Delimitation commission as well. It must act and deliver now”, Harsh divulged.
Mr. Singh said that with 21 months already over since its constitution, the delimitation commission must commit itself for early completion of the exercise rather than merely flirting with the proposition without any tangible output as on date. The delimitation report should be immediately put in the public domain after the proposed meeting with the associate members maintained by Singh. Any further delay would only help bolster the narrative that the delimitation commission and BJP govt are hands in glove in delaying and denying democracy in the erstwhile state of J&K.
