Jammu: Bharatiya Janata Party's J&K unit led by president Ravinder Raina on Thursday met the officials of the Delimitation Commission which is being headed by Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai, and demanded the unfreezing of the 24 assembly seats that fall under Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, so that reservation could be provided to people displaced from PoK, such as Kashmiri Pandits, SCs and STs. The delegation also sought an adequate representation for Jammu in the assembly. "We demanded political reservation for POJK refugees by unfreezing the eight assembly seats from the POJK quota, three seats for Kashmiri Pandits, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other neglected people. Jammu, too, must get adequate representation in the assembly," Raina told reporters.
The Delimitation Commission, led by Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai, arrived in Jammu and Kashmir on a four-day visit on Tuesday to interact with leaders of political parties and officials to gather 'first-hand' inputs for the mega exercise of redrawing constituencies and carving out new ones in the union territory. Once the delimitation exercise is completed, the number of assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir will go up from 83 to 90. However, twenty-four seats of the assembly continue to remain vacant as they fall under PoK.
Read: J&K: Delimitation panel meets several delegations in South Kashmir
While the National Conference under the leadership of Devender Singh Rana, the Provincial President National Conference, Jammu, submitted a memorandum to the Delimitation Commission as the NC have been and are a strong votary of strengthening democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.
"We always espouse the cause of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as per their aspirations which are diverse and multidimensional. Any Delimitation process has a vital role in empowering each constituent to be an equal shareholder in the process of democracy so that each one feels empowered and not feels relegated, isolated, disconnected or disempowered. This Delimitation Commission in the circumstances that it has been constituted is unique and its findings can have far-reaching consequences in shaping the future of Jammu and Kashmir. History will judge its decision and our role critically and if we fail we shall fail our people and the Nation as a whole. We are confident that the Delimitation Commission shall work in the most transparent judicious and fair manner providing justice to all in delimiting the constituencies as per the constitutional framework based on the basic tenants of Delimitation population, geography, topography, area, physical features, contiguity, the convenience of administrative units and facilities of easy communication and approachability of public convenience. We feel that decentralisation should form the core of democracy, all regions or sub-regions crave an equal role in governance where no one should nurture a feeling of subservience or discrimination. We are for the singular, inclusive Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is a model of unity in diversity, but each region and sub-region has its own diverse characteristics and thereby peculiar needs and demands which need to be addressed by the Delimitation Commission in a manner that everyone feels involved and democratically empowered," the memorandum read.
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