In its recent meeting on December 20, the Delimita-tion Commission proposed six additional assembly seats for Jammu and one for Kashmir. In its bid to redraw the electoral map of J&K, the commission met with the associate members – three MPs from the National Conference and two from the Bharatiya Janata Party. The recommendations of these associ-ate members are, however, not binding on the com-mission.
On December 21, former Union minister and Congress leader Saifuddin Soz spoke to The Wire about the legislative changes in the political and demographic character of Kashmir in view of the recent Delimitation Commission proposal and the regulations and orders that have been protested by Kashmiris since August 5, 2019.
The interview has been edited lightly for style and clarity. What transition has the BJP made in its approach towards Kashmir?
The BJP has invested large amounts of money to buy off political affiliates and workers in Kash-mir, to establish puppets and purchase turncoats whom it can bank on. In Sumbal, Karnah, Keran, Tulail, Gurez and Kupwara’s interiors, BJP has tried its best to purchase locals into joining its party. Just like we saw many sudden inductions by the BJP before DDC elections. These local Kashmiris who joined the BJP as vote cutters, were purchased only to establish their ground in the Valley.
Everyone, including the NC, PDP, People’s Conference is aware of this design – when the BJP-RSS combination fails to muster electoral victory, they use their money to poach panchayat heads and party workers. And reading down [Article] 370 was their first step towards their goal of installing a Hindu chief minister in Jammu and Kashmir, which they now want to achieve electorally through de-limitation.
Nobody is saying Kashmir is against Hindus or a Hindu chief minister; if people elect an impecca-ble candidate, it’s the people’s mandate, but achiev-ing a Hindu chief minister by engineering a reli-gious majority in the garb of delimitation will never be accepted by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. They are under the assumption that during Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s time, just because they were in alliance they gained ground in Kashmir. It is BJP’s foolish assumption.
On the basis of population, Kashmir deserves more seats, however the delimitation commission has proposed more seats for Jammu as per geogra-phy. What do you make of this?
In delimitation, one can make out how strategi-cal the increase in seats is. The majority of seats have been increased in Hindu-majority areas. —KMS
