Srinagar, July 10, 2021 (PPI-OT):Amid the ongoing delimitation exercise in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), pro-India National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah has questioned the double standards adopted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vis a` vis Kashmir situation.
In an interview with Tribune India, when asked whether the delimitation panel has already planned the outcome of the exercise, the pro-India leader said: “They have taken feedback and have said they will ensure transparency and that their draft will be made available for final comments. One of my members asked the panel on what basis it had decided on adding seven seats. He was told it was a political decision. There is an inherent contradiction in the BJP’s own position. It tells the panel that the 2011 census is flawed yet singles out JandK for delimitation with that as the basis. They could have waited for the 2021 census. The BJP should answer why this has been imposed on us when it thinks the 2011 census data is flawed.”
Omar Abdullah also said that he was not comfortable with Indian government’s rhetoric that statehood of Jammu and Kashmir would be restored at an appropriate time. “I am not comfortable with that. Who will determine when it is appropriate? I would expect far more clarity from the Indian government on what yardstick it will follow. I don’t understand why we were reduced to a UT. If violence was the justification, then far more violence happens in Naxalite-dominated areas where massacres of security forces have run into three figures. How come Chhattisgarh is not a UT? Therefore, there is no justification.”
When asked what will be the stand of National Conference, if the Indian government decides to hold polls before granting statehood to JandK, Omar Abdullah said his party will have to sit down and discuss it.
Reciprocating a query about the resentment among Kashmiris about the economic downfall of the occupied territory, post August 2019 situation coupled with COVID-19, he said some of the resentment and anger does not have a short-term solution.” What Delhi did to JandK on August 5, 2019, has not been accepted by anybody here. There is unhappiness bordering on resentment about what was done — the humiliation of being reduced to a UT, the really poor governance, the autocratic rule of bureaucrats with no accountability. The bureaucrats are so intolerant that even the slightest hint of criticism can land you in jail. So, I am not surprised people are angry. There is no one solution to wipe out all the anger.”
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