‘Misrepresentation of details’: J-Okay administration on ‘inclusion’ of 25 lakh ‘non-local’ voters
11 min readBy PTI
SRINAGAR: Reports of over 25 lakh extra voters in Jammu and Kashmir is a “misrepresentation of facts by vested interests”, the Union Territory administration stated on Saturday.
It stated that the revision of electoral rolls will cowl current residents of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In an commercial revealed in native dailies by the Directorate of Information and Public Relations, the administration stated the abstract revision of electoral rolls is undertaken by the Election Commission now and again in keeping with the laid down course of.
The clarification comes after an issue broke out following the chief electoral officer’s (CEO) comment that 25 lakh extra voters, together with outsiders, are prone to be added to the electoral rolls in J-Okay.
The CEO’s remarks got here below extreme criticism from the mainstream political events right here who alleged that the “inclusion of non-locals was a clear cut ploy to disenfranchise the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.
However, within the newspaper commercial on Saturday, the Jammu and Kashmir administration stated the abstract revision was to allow eligible younger folks to register themselves as voters.
Besides, it additionally permits an individual who has modified his residence to enrol at a brand new location by getting his identify deleted from the electoral rolls on the earlier location, the commercial said.
The variety of electors as revealed within the Special Summary Revision of Jammu and Kashmir state in 2011 was 66,00,921 and the quantity within the electoral roll of the Union Territory now could be 76,02,397, the Information Department stated.
“This increase is mainly due to the new voters, who attained the age of 18 years,” it added.
The administration stated there have been media stories that over 25 lakh voters can be added to the electoral rolls as soon as the revision course of begins.
“This is a misrepresentation of details unfold by vested pursuits.
This revision of electoral rolls will cowl current residents of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the rise in numbers can be of the voters who’ve attained the age of 18 years as of October 1, 2022, or earlier,” it stated.
The commercial said that there isn’t a change within the particular provisions for Kashmiri migrants for his or her enrolment within the electoral rolls of their authentic native constituencies.
“They will continue to be given the option of voting at their place of enrolment or through postal ballot or through specially set up polling stations at Jammu, Udhampur, Delhi, etc,” it stated.
The administration clarified that there isn’t a change in guidelines for getting property and getting jobs in Jammu and Kashmir and “have no link to the representation of voters or otherwise”.
Here is what political events from the valley have stated on the matter to this point
Former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig on Friday lashed out at Jammu and Kashmir’s ballot officer for his assertion on the inclusion of non-local voters within the electoral rolls, saying the irresponsible remarks have been made with out authority and any authorized jurisdiction.
He additionally stated there was no such legislation which gave voting rights to non-state topics within the Union Territory (UT), and the domicile legislation was about jobs and elections.
“The officer gave a statement about 25 lakh additional voters. This is an irresponsible and wrong statement,” he instructed reporters right here.
Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar had just lately introduced that the Union territory was prone to get round 25 lakh extra voters, together with outsiders, after the particular abstract revision of electoral rolls being held for the primary time after the abrogation of Article 370.
Baig, who can be a lawyer, stated a domicile certificates, as outlined in Section 3-A of Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment Rules, 2010, will be issued by a tehsildar to those that lived within the UT for 15 years or studied in colleges right here for seven years.
“They can get jobs, but not become citizens and do not have voting rights,” he stated.
Senior Congress chief Saifuddin Soz stated time has come for mainstream political events in Jammu and Kashmir to return ahead for a “decisive battle” in opposition to “brazenly undemocratic and unconstitutional step” of inclusion of non-local voters within the electoral rolls.
“As a first reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s disruptionist move in Kashmir, the Kashmir mainstream must show a visibly and qualitatively different reaction. The Kashmir mainstream leadership should close its ranks and stand extraordinarily united,” he stated in a press release.
Meanwhile, the Awami National Conference (ANC) alleged that the event clearly “signals that the BJP’s Kashmir policy has turned into a disaster”.
Talking to reporters right here, ANC senior vp Muzzafar Shah instructed reporters right here that the stories given to the highest BJP management have reported a rout for the occasion in each areas of Jammu and Kashmir, therefore this “shameful, illegal and unconstitutional attempt at disenfranchising the people”.
Inclusion of non-local voters within the electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir has heightened the fears of demographic change within the Union territory, Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone stated right here on Friday.
He additionally appealed to the federal government to allay the apprehensions of the folks.
“The recent statement by officials of the Election Commission pertaining to allowing non-locals to vote in the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir has created a new set of apprehensions amongst the people that the government of India must come out with unvarnished truth to allay their fears,” Lone stated in a press release.
He stated the assertion of chief electoral officer has “heightened” the fears of demographic intervention and demographic change.
“We know the set of laws that prevail across the country but what matters here is not the application of the law, but the intentions of those implementing the law,” he stated.
Lone stated within the final three years, “disempowerment” of the inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir has change into a steady course of and is achieved incrementally with unfailing frequency.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday took out a protest march right here in opposition to the inclusion of non-local voters within the electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Several PDP leaders led by the occasion’s chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari took out the march from the occasion’s head workplace close to Sher-e-Kashmir Park right here.
Bukhari stated the protest was in opposition to the “electoral demographic change being forced by the BJP” via inclusion of “imported voters” within the J-Okay electoral rolls.
He stated the rights of the folks of J-Okay are being “trampled.”
“They started the process of taking away the peoples’ rights and diluting public will here on August 5, 2019 and now they have added a new chapter to it by saying they will add non-local voters.”
“They are trying hard to change the identity, democratic rights, and electoral demography of the people of Jammu & Kashmir, but it is not acceptable to the people of Jammu & Kashmir under any circumstances,” Bukhari instructed reporters.
He stated the occasion leaders needed to register a peaceable protest to reiterate what their president Mehbooba Mufti stated on Thursday.
“This is an attempt to send a message that the people of Jammu & Kashmir will not tolerate this,” he added.
About the all-party assembly convened by National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday, Bukhari stated the occasion hopes that every one the political events and the folks of Jammu and Kashmir will come collectively “to fight this assault on our identity and rights.”
SRINAGAR: Reports of over 25 lakh extra voters in Jammu and Kashmir is a “misrepresentation of facts by vested interests”, the Union Territory administration stated on Saturday.
It stated that the revision of electoral rolls will cowl current residents of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In an commercial revealed in native dailies by the Directorate of Information and Public Relations, the administration stated the abstract revision of electoral rolls is undertaken by the Election Commission now and again in keeping with the laid down course of.
The clarification comes after an issue broke out following the chief electoral officer’s (CEO) comment that 25 lakh extra voters, together with outsiders, are prone to be added to the electoral rolls in J-Okay.
The CEO’s remarks got here below extreme criticism from the mainstream political events right here who alleged that the “inclusion of non-locals was a clear cut ploy to disenfranchise the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.
However, within the newspaper commercial on Saturday, the Jammu and Kashmir administration stated the abstract revision was to allow eligible younger folks to register themselves as voters.
Besides, it additionally permits an individual who has modified his residence to enrol at a brand new location by getting his identify deleted from the electoral rolls on the earlier location, the commercial said.
The variety of electors as revealed within the Special Summary Revision of Jammu and Kashmir state in 2011 was 66,00,921 and the quantity within the electoral roll of the Union Territory now could be 76,02,397, the Information Department stated.
“This increase is mainly due to the new voters, who attained the age of 18 years,” it added.
The administration stated there have been media stories that over 25 lakh voters can be added to the electoral rolls as soon as the revision course of begins.
“This is a misrepresentation of details unfold by vested pursuits.
This revision of electoral rolls will cowl current residents of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the rise in numbers can be of the voters who’ve attained the age of 18 years as of October 1, 2022, or earlier,” it stated.
The commercial said that there isn’t a change within the particular provisions for Kashmiri migrants for his or her enrolment within the electoral rolls of their authentic native constituencies.
“They will continue to be given the option of voting at their place of enrolment or through postal ballot or through specially set up polling stations at Jammu, Udhampur, Delhi, etc,” it stated.
The administration clarified that there isn’t a change in guidelines for getting property and getting jobs in Jammu and Kashmir and “have no link to the representation of voters or otherwise”.
Here is what political events from the valley have stated on the matter to this point
Former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig on Friday lashed out at Jammu and Kashmir’s ballot officer for his assertion on the inclusion of non-local voters within the electoral rolls, saying the irresponsible remarks have been made with out authority and any authorized jurisdiction.
He additionally stated there was no such legislation which gave voting rights to non-state topics within the Union Territory (UT), and the domicile legislation was about jobs and elections.
“The officer gave a statement about 25 lakh additional voters. This is an irresponsible and wrong statement,” he instructed reporters right here.
Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar had just lately introduced that the Union territory was prone to get round 25 lakh extra voters, together with outsiders, after the particular abstract revision of electoral rolls being held for the primary time after the abrogation of Article 370.
Baig, who can be a lawyer, stated a domicile certificates, as outlined in Section 3-A of Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment Rules, 2010, will be issued by a tehsildar to those that lived within the UT for 15 years or studied in colleges right here for seven years.
“They can get jobs, but not become citizens and do not have voting rights,” he stated.
Senior Congress chief Saifuddin Soz stated time has come for mainstream political events in Jammu and Kashmir to return ahead for a “decisive battle” in opposition to “brazenly undemocratic and unconstitutional step” of inclusion of non-local voters within the electoral rolls.
“As a first reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s disruptionist move in Kashmir, the Kashmir mainstream must show a visibly and qualitatively different reaction. The Kashmir mainstream leadership should close its ranks and stand extraordinarily united,” he stated in a press release.
Meanwhile, the Awami National Conference (ANC) alleged that the event clearly “signals that the BJP’s Kashmir policy has turned into a disaster”.
Talking to reporters right here, ANC senior vp Muzzafar Shah instructed reporters right here that the stories given to the highest BJP management have reported a rout for the occasion in each areas of Jammu and Kashmir, therefore this “shameful, illegal and unconstitutional attempt at disenfranchising the people”.
Inclusion of non-local voters within the electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir has heightened the fears of demographic change within the Union territory, Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone stated right here on Friday.
He additionally appealed to the federal government to allay the apprehensions of the folks.
“The recent statement by officials of the Election Commission pertaining to allowing non-locals to vote in the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir has created a new set of apprehensions amongst the people that the government of India must come out with unvarnished truth to allay their fears,” Lone stated in a press release.
He stated the assertion of chief electoral officer has “heightened” the fears of demographic intervention and demographic change.
“We know the set of laws that prevail across the country but what matters here is not the application of the law, but the intentions of those implementing the law,” he stated.
Lone stated within the final three years, “disempowerment” of the inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir has change into a steady course of and is achieved incrementally with unfailing frequency.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday took out a protest march right here in opposition to the inclusion of non-local voters within the electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Several PDP leaders led by the occasion’s chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari took out the march from the occasion’s head workplace close to Sher-e-Kashmir Park right here.
Bukhari stated the protest was in opposition to the “electoral demographic change being forced by the BJP” via inclusion of “imported voters” within the J-Okay electoral rolls.
He stated the rights of the folks of J-Okay are being “trampled.”
“They started the process of taking away the peoples’ rights and diluting public will here on August 5, 2019 and now they have added a new chapter to it by saying they will add non-local voters.”
“They are trying hard to change the identity, democratic rights, and electoral demography of the people of Jammu & Kashmir, but it is not acceptable to the people of Jammu & Kashmir under any circumstances,” Bukhari instructed reporters.
He stated the occasion leaders needed to register a peaceable protest to reiterate what their president Mehbooba Mufti stated on Thursday.
“This is an attempt to send a message that the people of Jammu & Kashmir will not tolerate this,” he added.
About the all-party assembly convened by National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday, Bukhari stated the occasion hopes that every one the political events and the folks of Jammu and Kashmir will come collectively “to fight this assault on our identity and rights.”
