Two days after the separatists in Kashmir called for boycott of the municipal and panchayat elections, mainstream National Conference also decided to stay away from the polls.
The National Conference on Wednesday announced its boycott of the upcoming elections announced by the Governor’s Administration to be held around October-December this year.
The party sought clarification from the Central Government about the protection of Article 35A in and outside the courts.
National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah after chairing the party’s core group meeting at its party headquarters at “Nawa-i-Subh” Complex in Srinagar, told reporters that his party won’t contest the upcoming panchayat and municipal elections as the situation was not conducive for the elections.
Earlier, the NC core group meeting had a detailed discussion about the prevailing situation in the State with particular reference to Article 35A of the Constitution. The meeting felt that any tinkering with Article 35A has disastrous consequences not only for the State but for the entire country.
The core group said that the role of the Central Government and the Governor’s Administration vis-a-vis Article 35A in the Supreme Court clearly goes against the wishes and aspirations of the people of the State.
The party alleged that announcement of municipal and panchayat polls by Governor’s Administration was taken hastily without taking into consideration the prevailing situation created in view of unnecessary attempts to fiddle with Article 35 A. NC vice-president Omar Abdullah in a tweet said, “It is now for the Central government to clarify whether it stands with regard to Art 35A. It is not enough to use panchayat & municipal elections simply to delay proceedings in the court”.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti in a tweet also criticized the Central government’s position taken at the Apex Court vis-a-vis bunch of petitions seeking abrogation of Article 35A.
She said, “The Central government’s plea in the Supreme Court to link decision on 35A with panchayat and urban bodies elections, was a disastrous idea, which has further alienated the people and complicated the situation on ground”.
Pertinently, “Joint Resistance Leadership”, an amalgam of separatist political parties, comprising of Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik has already called for boycott of these elections in the State.
Recently, the Leadership had issued hard hitting statement against the conduct of elections and all the mainstream political parties alleging them to be “Collaborators of Indian Union”. The leadership has urged people to boycott the upcoming municipal elections with the spirit of denying recognition to National Conference, PDP and other mainstream political parties who, they said, “are collaborating with Government of India just to strengthen the roots of occupation in Jammu & Kashmir.”
On September 01, State Administrative Council under chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik decided the dates of the polls. The elections to Municipal Bodies were slated to be conducted in 04 phases with polling dates between 1st October and 5th October. Similarly, elections to Panchayats were slated to be conducted in 08 phases with polling dates between 8th November, and 4th December this year.
With the NC’s decision, the other pro election parties will be in a tight spot on their decision whether or not to take a plunge into the polls. The surge in militancy has already put a question mark over the conduct of polls and now the poll boycott decision by prominent mainstream party would further throw the poll process into jeopardy.
Meanwhile, a non local labourer who sustained critical bullet injuries in brief shootout between suspected militants and army personnel in Lassipora Pulwama area in south Kashmir, succumbed at Srinagar hospital Wednesday afternoon.
Security sources said that a brief shootout occurred after suspected militants attacked Army's 55 RR party that was engaged in its own local census activity at Hajidar Pora in Lassipora area of Pulwama district on Wednesday morning.
The deceased person Arjun Kumar of Philbit Bareilly Uttar Pradesh, was working in a brick kiln in the district and sustained grievous bullet injuries in the head. He had been shifted to Srinagar’s Sher e Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) for specialized treatment.