CM calls all-party meeting on May 12
To discuss raising Assembly seats
S.P.Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, April 28
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has convened all-parties meeting at Srinagar on May 12 to discuss the contentious issues of increasing the number of Assembly seats by 25 per cent and granting citizenship rights to refugees from West Pakistan. Azad has convened this meeting in a bid to evolve consensus on these issues and also to discuss delimitation of Assembly constituencies.
Political parties here are opposed to the region-wise proportionate increase of seats by 25 per cent as Jammu, despite being geographically bigger than Kashmir, will continue to have less number of seats than the valley.
On the other hand, the Kashmir-based parties favour providing citizenship rights to the Hindu West Pakistani refugees who migrated to the state 60 years ago.They argue that such a step would affect the demography of the state.
These issues eluded consensus when a Bill was introduced for the purpose of increasing 25 per cent seats in the Assembly. The government first introduced the Bill, but later withdrew it.
However, a private member Harshdev Singh, Panthers Party, seeking to increase the number of seats from the existing 87 to 140 was rejected in the House. Besides, as many as 25 seats have been kept vacant for the PoK. Delimitation of Assembly constituencies was overdue in the state.
The ruling Congress had during the elections promised refugees that steps would be taken towards their permanent resettlement.
The West Pakistani refugees here face a peculiar dilemma of not having citizenship rights. They can vote for the Lok Sabha elections, but not for the state Assembly. Their children are denied jobs in state government departments and they cannot own land here.
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