National Conference says won’t participate in J&K delimitation exercise

The National Conference (NC), whose three Members of Parliament (MPs), including Dr. Farooq Abdullah, were nominated as members of the Delimitation Commission by Lok Sabha SpeakerLok Sabha SpeakerLok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday, rejected the whole process on Friday.

“This Delimitation Commission is a product of the J&K Re-organisation Act 2019, which NC is challenging both in and outside the Supreme Court. Participating in this Commission will be tantamount to accepting the events of August 5, 2019, which the NC is unwilling to do,” a NC spokesman said in Srinagar.

He said the NC’s three MPs will not participate in the Commission.

“According to the Constitution of J&K, the constituencies of J&K were to be delimited in 2026 with rest of the country. The constituencies in the State were last delimited in ‘90s. Thereafter, an amendment was made in the Constitution of J&K and unanimously passed in the State Assembly, in which all the regional parties, Congress and BJP voted for this amendment to go with the delimitation with rest of the country in 2026. Therefore, the Constitution of the Delimitation Commission is unwarranted,” the spokesman added.