J&K Parties to Approach National Opposition, ECI for Elections

Srinagar: Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday said they will reach out to the national opposition leadership and approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) to press for elections in the union territory.

An all-party meeting was held at the residence of National Conference (NC) president Dr Farooq Abdullah in Jammu’s Banthindi which was attended by several regional opposition parties including Congress, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), and others.

The former chief minister in a presser held after the meeting told reporters that the issues concerning the region including the property tax, encroachment drive, students’ protest against blacklisted Aptech and the current political situation of J&K were discussed.

“Everyone put forward their point of view to bring the region out of the problems. We witnessed how the strike called by the traders in Jammu has emerged explaining how bad our situation is,” Abdullah said. 

The meeting coincided with a shutdown in the winter capital that was called by the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JCCI) against the recently announced property tax for the people in the region. The shutdown, which was supported by at least two political parties, received a mixed response with shops observing it whilst the transport community stayed away from the call. This is the second such strike in the union territory since last month against an administrative decision. Earlier, a shutdown was observed in Kashmir valley on February 15 against the now-suspended “eviction drive”.

The NC president added that the parties have decided to go to Delhi to meet national leaders to inform them about the problems faced by the people of the region.

“Both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister claim that there is normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and there are preparations going on for G20 meeting then why can’t let the elections be held,” Abdullah argued. 

Abdullah added that they will also go before the election commission with the support from national leaders to advocate for elections.

“There haven’t been elections since 2014 which is strange for a democratic state. After meeting in Delhi, all of us will again meet here and will proceed further after the month of Ramadan for a similar all-party meeting in the valley,” he said.

Senior CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, who also attended the Jammu meeting, told reporters that there were attempts made to scare and divide them, but all the parties gathered at Abdullah’s residence have resolved that the people will not be left “powerless”.

“We want to send a message to each community and section of the society that political parties in the opposition are one and that our aim is to restore democracy in the country. Since 2018, we are being deliberately kept out of the constitutional order which is unacceptable to us. We may differ in opinions but we are united on issues that impact us all,” Tarigami said.

The leader argued that whether it is the property tax or any other issue, such decision should only be reserved for the Assembly to decide.

“Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of this nation. We are not traitors. We have been part of the state and have fought all the people who wanted to separate it. We want the statehood to be restored so that elections can be held immediately,” Abdullah said.