Implement panel report on defreezing PoJK seats, says BJP

Dinesh Manhotra
Tribune News Service
Jammu, November 27

As countdown to the state elections has started with the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) have intensified campaign to get their ‘share’ in the Assembly seats ‘reserved’ for the residents of areas illegally occupied by Pakistan.

A delegation of displaced persons from PoJK met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Om Parkash Rawat in Delhi on Monday to appraise him of the seats kept ‘reserved’ for these areas of the erstwhile J&K.

The BJP has decided to seek intervention of the high command for the demand of displaced persons.

“We will seek help from central leadership to get the issue addressed,” Narinder Singh, state general secretary of the BJP, told The Tribune. He argued that the Parliamentary Standing Committee had also suggested that of the total 24 ‘reserved’ Assembly seats for residents of PoJK, eight should be allotted to the displaced persons living in the Jammu region.

The 183rd report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, regarding problems faced by refugees and displaced persons of J&K, was tabled on the floor of the House on December 22, 2014. It had recommended defreezing of eight ‘reserved’ seats.

“Representatives of the PoJK displaced persons were of the view that eight Assembly seats were designated for the territorial constituencies of the state that lie in PoJK should be released in the favour of displaced persons. The committee considered that the Centreshould take up the matter with the state government keeping in view the problems being faced by displaced persons. The ministry may impress upon the state government to amend the state constitution, if necessary, at the earliest,” the panel suggested in its report.

The delegation that met the ECI is hopeful that their demand would be fulfilled. “The ECI has promised to seek information from the Union and state governments in this regard,” said Rajiv Chuni, who led delegation.

Recommendations 

The committee considers that the Centre should take up defreezing eight seats for PoJK displaced persons with the J&K Government keeping in view the problems being faced by displaced persons.