Political parties in J&K on Sunday cried foul over the Election Commission’s decision to delay the Assembly poll in the State.
“First time since 1996, the Assembly election is not being held on time... Balakot and Uri are not symbols of PM Modi’s handling of national security, J&K is and look at the mess he has made there,” said National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah.
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said the decision “confirms the sinister designs of the government”. “A tactic of buying time to disempower people by pushing an agenda that suits their ulterior motives.”
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Mr. Abdullah said he never thought Mr. Modi “would be willing to confess his failure on a global stage”, with the amount of international attention elections in J&K attract.
“What happened to (Union Home Minister) Rajnath Singh’s assurance to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha as well as to the all-party meeting recently in Delhi that all forces would be made available for simultaneous polls? It (delaying elections) shows how badly the BJP and earlier the BJP-PDP mishandled J&K,” he added.
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said the decision “confirms the sinister designs of the government. A tactic of buying time to disempower people by pushing an agenda that suits their ulterior motives”.
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The State CPI(M) said the ECI decision “has disappointed the people of the State”. “This was done despite all the political parties urging the ECI to hold both elections simultaneously. It will send wrong signals to people within and outside the State,” said CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami.
Congress leader Kadfeen Choudhary too questioned the ECI move. “If the State is prepared for Lok Sabha polls, why not for the Assembly election? Instead of striving for putting a popular government in place through a democratic exercise, the ECI has done the opposite and denied people their right to choose a government,” he said.