Communist leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Thursday asked the Centre to take the people of the country into confidence and explain why assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are not being held as promised.
He said while the polls are not a panacea for all the "ills" of Jammu and Kashmir under the present set up of a Union territory, an elected government would provide some respite to the people.
"The present government at the Centre has gone hoarse claiming that normalcy has returned to Jammu and Kashmir and that all wrongs have been set right. Then, why are the elections being delayed?" Tarigami, who is also a spokesman of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, said.
"The first excuse given was that the delimitation process had to be completed before the polls. They committed harakiri (suicide) while redrawing the constituencies to follow their agenda. Even then, they are not in a position to hold the elections," he said.
Tarigami said Union Home Minister Amit Shah has committed on the floor of the House to not only hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir but to also restore statehood.
"If the government is not able to hold elections, it should tell the people of India the reasons for not doing so," he said.
National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah had on Wednesday said the BJP did not have the courage to face the voters even after revoking Article 370 and "gerrymandering" the constituencies through the delimitation commission.
"Complete dilution of Art 370, bifurcation & downgrading of J&K state, gerrymandering of constituencies through a tame delimitation commission, curtailing movement & activities of parties like @JKNC_ by revoking security & STILL the BJP doesn’t have the guts to face voters of J&K," Abdullah had tweeted.
Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir are unlikely to be held this year as the Election Commission has set November 25 as the date for publication of the final electoral rolls.
(With PTI inputs)
