Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have said that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's submission in the Supreme Court with regard to elections in the Union Territory has only created confusion and the Centre was trying to postpone the elections in Jammu and Kashmir. During the ongoing hearing regarding Article 370 in the Supreme Court on Thursday, the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta assured on behalf of the Central government that assembly elections can be held in Jammu and Kashmir at any time.
However, Mehta didn't specify any date or timeframe for the legislative assembly elections to be held in Jammu and Kashmir. Suhail Bukhari, the Chief spokesperson of the People's Democratic Party, said, "Elections and statehood are not a priority for our party even though they are important components that have been taken away from us illegally.
This is also the case before the Supreme Court. The real issue is the special status unconstitutionally taken away from us under Article 370 and the Chief Justice also made it clear in the court." Bukhari said that the Election Commission and the BJP government were “throwing the ball in each other's court regarding the elections”.
“Last time, the chief of the Election Commission had claimed that all the preparations for the elections had been completed by them. He also said that there is a void that needs to be filled but they were waiting for the government, while BJP said that it is the prerogative of the Election Commission. So far we have seen Election Commission acting as an extension of BJP and not as an independent body,” Bukhari said.
He said that it will be interesting to see what Election Commission does now after the SG's submission in the apex court. “The real question is legality and we are satisfied with our stand. We hope that the lawyers from our side presented the argument in a very reasoned way. We hope that the constitution will prevail and the court will do justice to the people," the PDP spokesman said.
National Conference spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said that there was “no point” in the SG's submission in the SC over elections. “The central government has been saying this for years, not months. It is confusing to make this statement at this time. Our submission in the Supreme Court is that the decisions taken on August 5, 2019 are unconstitutional and therefore should be annulled. We did not go to the court asking for elections. Definitely elections are an important part of the democratic system and something should be done about it. But the statement made in the court today is only to divert from the real motive," Dar said.
He further said that the NC lawyers were preparing to rebut the statements presented by SG today. “I agree with Kapil Sibal who spoke during his instant rebuttal. Post August 5, 2019, Internet was down for months, security forces personnel were posted outside houses. The claims they are making are baseless. There is no truth in them. We hope the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench will deliver Justice," said the NC spokesman.
President of the People's Conference Sajjad Lone too said that the statements presented in the court today were “not different from the statements given by the government in the last four years”. “I am disappointed, not for Jammu and Kashmir, but for Judiciary. Judiciary is the highest level, if they make the same statements as they have been making for the last four years, it is a matter of concern. They are making more political statements than the legal statements in the court," Lone said.
He further said, "Is Jammu and Kashmir still special? Are they creating a new process to break up the states to create a UT. There is full hope from the judiciary because they cannot be partial about anything there. None of us is bigger than Jammu and Kashmir and therefore we should not fall into the trap of not participating in the elections." Senior leader of Apni party, Muntazer Mohhuidin, said that the Centre does not want to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, so they are trying to postpone them.
“If panchayat, municipal and other elections can be held, then why not the assembly?" he asked.
