In an attempt to garner the support of more political and social parties against the inclusion of “non-locals” in Jammu and Kashmir’s electoral roll, the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) is holding an all-party meeting next month, PTI reported.
Senior CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami on Monday said the meeting will take place under the leadership of PAGD president Farooq Abdullah at his Jammu residence and is scheduled for 2 pm on 10 September.
“The all-party meeting is part of the ongoing consultations to come out with a joint strategy to stand united against any move to include outsiders in the electoral rolls in a bid to influence election results,” Tarigami, who is also PAGD’s convener and spokesperson, told PTI.
PAGD, an amalgam of five political parties – NC, PDP, CPI(M), CPI and Awami National Conference – is campaigning for the restoration of J-K’s special status within the Indian Constitution.
Tarigami, who is in Jammu for the past couple of days, said invitations will be forwarded to all parties except the BJP to attend the “important meeting”.
“There is no issue of ‘locals or non-locals’ as the Constitution gives all citizens the right to vote in the country after attaining the age of 18. The Representation of the People Act was implemented across the country in 1950 and was extended to Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 (in August 2019),” BJP president Ravinder Raina had said, adding the revision of electoral rolls was taking place in accordance with the Act.
The controversy erupted after Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar said J-K is likely to get around 25 lakh additional voters, including outsiders, after the special summary revision of electoral rolls, which are being held for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration, however, had issued a clarification, saying the reports were a “misrepresentation of facts by vested interests” and the increase in numbers will be due to the voters who would attain the age of 18 years by 1 October 2022.
