The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced on Friday that it will be unable to participate in the ongoing delimitation process in Jammu and Kashmir since it currently lacks an incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).
During a press conference, the party also requested that the decision to collect property tax on residents living inside the Srinagar Cantonment Board’s jurisdiction be revoked.
According to the news agency KNO, PDP chief spokesman Suhail Bukhari, who was accompanied by additional spokespersons Najmu Saqib and Dr Harbakhsh Singh Shunty, said that the parties in J&K can decide on their participation in the present delimitation commission on their own.
When asked about PAGD’s participation in the delimitation exercise, he said, “However, as far as PDP is concerned, we currently have no MP and MLA, so we can’t participate in the process.” He added that the way the commission is set up, only elected representatives are allowed to participate in the exercise.
He went on to say that there are reports that residents living under the Srinagar cantonment Board’s jurisdiction are being requested to pay property tax. “Instead of assisting the people who have been suffering since the beginning of 2019, the administration is driving them to the brink,” he stated.
Bukhari went on to say that the government should reverse its arbitrary decision to charge property tax on local residents, saying that it is unfortunate that people work hard to buy shelter and then are asked to pay for it again, implying that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are being economically and politically weakened.
In response to the opposition to AIIMS in Kashmir, he stated that the idea was taken after much hard work by the party’s founder, late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed. “Given the present Covid situation, there is a need to build health infrastructure in J&K, and it should be permitted to come up as soon as possible for the people’s well-being,” he stated.
Furthermore, he stated that some documents are currently being disseminated on social media, causing alarm among the public. “Although some people dismiss it as mere rumours,” he said, “the government has an obligation to address people’s fears and inform them on record that there is no reason to panic.”
Nonetheless, he noted that, though there is a trust deficit between the government and the public as a result of the August 5, 2019 decision, the government must step forward to ease the worries of the public.He also expressed his sympathies with the families who were displaced by the nighttime fire in the Noorbagh region of Baramulla district, and urged the local administration to compensate them.
The Chenab Times News Desk