New Delhi, December 24
National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday said his party is preparing to approach the Supreme Court against the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission as it believes the grounds of the exercise are “illegal”. .
The veteran politician, who was a three-time Chief Minister of the then state as well as a Union Minister, also said that the time has come for the opposition parties to come together and fight the forces bent on destroying the secular fabric of the country.
Giving a detailed account of his interactions during the meeting of the Delimitation Commission earlier this week, Abdullah told PTI that “the first point raised by us in the meeting was that the commission was illegal” because of the challenge to the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir. The petition of the party was pending in the Supreme Court.
However, the commission’s chairperson Justice (Retd) Ranjana Desai opposed the National Conference’s contention that as far as the panel was concerned, they were empowered by the government and hence, they had acted.
“But whatever the Supreme Court will ultimately say, it will be binding on them (the commission) also. So that the situation is clear. Then they explained other parameters as well. We are now preparing to move the Supreme Court,” he said. ,
On the Supreme Court not interfering with the recommendations made by the previous delimitation commissions, Abdullah said that the present commission was born after the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been challenged in the apex court and is yet to be discussed. Till date no decision has been given.
“That’s why…we are going to the Supreme Court. Others have also gone,” he said.
After Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the PMO, claimed after the December 20 Delimitation Commission meeting that he and other NC members were satisfied, Abdullah said, “What did he (Singh) expect us to do. Fight? We are not goons.” We don’t have the right to vote, we can only listen and put our objections which they have allowed us to do. And they have given us time till December 31. Before that we will have our report with our objections. He said that since the report is preliminary, the commission will look into the turmoil among different communities in J&K, and reiterated its demand to conduct delimitation exercise after the next census.
Referring to the reservation of nine seats for Scheduled Tribes and seven for Scheduled Castes in the commission’s preliminary report, the NC leader said, “We are not against the reservation of Scheduled Tribes. He had 15 members even without reservation. So there is nothing new there.” “Scheduled caste (population) has also increased in the last few years… Kashmiri Pandits have been yearning for it for a long time. What about them, the Sikhs and the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir? I’m pretty sure this is going to further divide communities and that’s a tragedy.”
On criticism from some quarters for attending the second meeting of the Delimitation Commission, the leader of the National Conference said, “If we do not participate, they will still criticize us. Therefore criticism is part of this life and we do not worry.” From criticism. They (critics) give us strength. Because we participated, we realized what’s in it and what they’ve done? How have they done?” Asked about attending a meeting chaired by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi recently, Abdullah said, “If we want to save this nation, (save it from further division) and its Unity is necessary if you want to further damage existence.” “Unity is a priority and fortunately Gandhi’s efforts are to that effect. We should appreciate that he has taken this step. It is a good start and I am sure it will result in a good unity before the 2024 elections.” I am sure there will be more meetings, bringing more people together because we cannot defeat communal forces alone. They will have to be a part of (united opposition),” Abdullah said.
On differences between the Congress and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, he said things have to be sorted out and “they will be sorted out, there is no doubt about it.” “If we want to work on the future, the past has to be left behind,” he said, hoping there would be “unity of purpose” among the opposition parties.
Abdullah said, “So our intention is to bring this India back on the track that we all dreamed of and now we do not fear that we will be put in more jail under various harsh laws.”
When asked about the Enforcement Directorate and CBI probe against him, he said that he will come out as one of the stronger ones. He said, “It doesn’t matter. It’s part of life that you have to face. You don’t shy away from it and I will come back as a stronger person.” — PTI