Aggrieved over not being consulted before announcement of District Development Council (DDC) elections, Congress on Thursday said it will knock the doors of Election Commission EC), saying it has apprehensions about security of political workers who were not able to move freely.
The party said it will take the decision to participate in the exercise in coming days.
The first ever DDC elections are scheduled to take place from November 28, alo9ng with by polls to 13,241 Panchayat seats and 228 Urban Local bodies’ seats. The elections would culminate on December 19, following which counting would be held on December 22.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, J&K Congress President GM Mir said there was the question about security of political workers which the party has been asking from the beginning.
“This is a big election. On one side, killings are taking place, while on the other side decision of holding this election has been taken. The cadres of mainstream political parties and national parties have been made vulnerable and defunct except BJP,” said Mir.
Mir said the elections have been “imposed”, and his party in consultation with other senior leaders will take a call within day or a two on participation. He said considering the present security situation in Kashmir, it was difficult for political workers to move in the field.
Mir said Election Commission should take notice of all these things. “We will knock its (EC’s) doors. If it is considering free and fair election, then everybody should be provided a level-field. It is duty of the EC. Normally, before announcing this election, there should have been all-party meeting. This hasn’t been done. Consensus should have been built. Before holding elections, parameters of democracy have been kept aside,” he said.
Mir said he has already conveyed his apprehensions to the Commissioner of the EC and his party leaders will also formally convey their apprehensions to the Commission within two days.
“The process has not been followed. All recognised political parties should have been taken into confidence. Apprehensions have been conveyed. Our people will go to the EC with this agenda,” he said.
Mir accused authorities of taking “unilateral” decision in carrying out delimitation, while following no formula for reservations.
Meanwhile, Vice President, Mahila Congress Shameema Raina said crime against Women was on the rise in J&K.
“If you look at J&K now, crimes have started happening against women. Women used to get lot of respect and dignity here. But after the current dispensation has come to power, there have been cases coming to the fore,” Raina said on the sidelines of the party function.
She said comparatively status of women in Kashmir used to be far better than rest of the country. “But this government has made everything worse,” she said.
She said government’s ‘Beti Bachao’ program was “defunct” in Jammu and Kashmir.