Long Overdue Panchayat Elections in Jammu & Kashmir Cancelled Again
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Panchayat elections in Jammu & Kashmir, which have been due since 2016, have been cancelled once again.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who heads the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led government in coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has said no to the panchayat polls, reported The Tribune.
Mufti has told the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre that the situation on the ground in the state is not conducive to holding the elections.
On October 26, Mufti had committed to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to initiate the poll process from December 1.
On November 4, J&K governor NN Vohra had promulgated an ordinance—Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017—to facilitate the poll process, already delayed by one and a half years. The Mufti government had also formally written to state’s chief electoral officer to hold the panchayat elections, and officials claimed the state was all set for polling.
Elections were to be held to 4,500 panchayats, with an electorate of around 57 lakh.
The last panchayat elections were held in 2011 under the Omar Abdullah government in April-May 2011. They saw an all-time high voter turnout of 80%.
In 2016, the panchayat polls could not take place due to violence in the Kashmir Valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani last July.
But the fact that Mufti has gone back on her word to the Centre is a confirmation that all is still not well in the Valley. The cancellation of the panchayat polls also belies the government’s claim that things are under control.
On October 26, the Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra had promulgated an ordinance—the Jammu and Kashmir Public Property (Prevention of Damage) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017— cracking down on people damaging public property. This made persons calling for strikes or demonstrations liable for fines and imprisonment up to five years.
The Centre had also appointed an interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir in October. Former Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma was to helm dialogue with separatist groups as well as all other stakeholders to resolve the Kashmir issue. However, the move is yet to have much impact, even as army operations continue in the state.
Earlier, by-polls to the Anantnag parliamentary seat, which were to be held on April 12, were called off. The cancellation followed violence during by-polls to the Srinagar parliamentary seat on April 9 left at least eight civilians dead and hundreds injured. Srinagar witnessed a turnout of less than 7%.
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