Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting on June 24 with the political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir is about the delimitation exercise, which has started in the new Union Territory ahead of the assembly elections, sources said, brushing off speculation about a restoration of statehood. Though the government has promised that statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time, that time has not come yet. The Kashmir leaders, meanwhile, have accepted the invition and will be attending the meeting.
The meeting is an attempt by the Centre to seek political validation of the administrative exercise which started in the first week of June, they said. The sources also conceded that while the issue of restoring statehood can be discussed, any such step will require sanction of parliament. There is also no question of restoring the special status which was granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution, they added.
For now, the Centre is ready to begin the assembly election process for which the delimitation exercise has to be completed first. The delimitation involves redrawing the boundaries of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in a state or Union Territory. The Delimitation Commission - formed last year and headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai - has already written to all the District Commissioners, seeking basic information.
Fourteen leaders from eight political parties from Jammu and Kashmir - including Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party and the National Conference - have been invited for the meeting on June 24, which will take place in Delhi. This will be the Prime Minister's first interaction with all the political parties of Jammu and Kashmir since August 2019.
In the meeting, the Prime Minister is likely to urge political leaders to take part in the delimitation exercise so that this can be done through consensus, the sources said. This will also send message to the international community that the government's exercise has wider political support and sanction.
Jammu and Kashmir was placed under Central rule after the BJP ended its alliance with Mehbooba Mufti in June 2018. There has been no political process since. In August 2019, the Centre ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir granted under the Constitution and bifurcated it into two Union territories.
Mehbooba, Farooq, Tarigami say yes to PM’s invite
In a significant development, the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) leaders announced that they have accepted the invitation of the Prime Minister for the June 4 meeting. The three leaders of the PAGD, Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami will attend the meeting. All these leaders have been invited to the meeting.
“The invitation has come from the Prime Minister and we are going to participate in the meeting. We are hopeful that we will present our stand before the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister,” Farooq Abdullah said after the PAGD meeting here. Flanked by Mehbooba Mufti, Tarigami, and other leaders of the PAGD, Farooq said, “After the meeting with the Prime Minister will be over in Delhi, we will be talking to the press about it, here and in Delhi also.” “We will be telling you what we said in the meeting and how they responded.” “There is no change in our stand and it will continue to remain the same. We have not changed our stand,” Farooq said. He said the invitation has come separately to all leaders and all be attending the meeting. “There is no agenda from their side and we can talk about any issue,” he said.
Tarigami said they will be taking the concerns and hopes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh before the Prime Minister. “Since there is no agenda of the meeting and we will repeat the stance of the PAGD before the big leaders of the country. We are going with a petition from the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We will be stating that guarantees which were given to us by the constitution of India should be given back to us,” Tarigami said.
