Congress To Tell EC Its Concern Over Rise In Terrorist Attacks Ahead of J&K Polls

The Congress party will inform the Election Commission that it is prepared for the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. However, they will raise concerns about the recent rise in terrorist attacks in the Jammu region, insufficient security for their senior leaders, restrictions on peaceful protests and the need for the restoration of full statehood.

New Delhi:The Congress will tell the Election Commission that the party is ready for the Assembly polls in Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir, but will also share its concerns over the recent spike in terrorist attacks in the Jammu region, lack of security cover for its senior leaders, restrictions from the administration over holding peaceful protests and the restoration of full statehood.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with his two Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and SS Sandhu, will visit Union Territory Jammu & Kashmir from August 8 to 10 to review the poll preparations and the security arrangements. As per a Supreme Court order, the Central government has to hold Assembly polls in Jammu & Kashmir by September.

“Our delegation will meet the Election Commission on August 8. We are going to tell the poll body we are ready for the elections. Our workers are prepared. After the Lok Sabha polls, the Assembly elections will be a positive democratic step in the border area. We will also share our concerns with them,” AICC in-charge Jammu & Kashmir Bharat Sinh Solanki told ETV Bharat.

According to party insiders, the concerns related to the sudden rise in the number of terror attacks in the Jammu region over the past months, the lack of proper security cover for senior Congress leaders and the administration’s restrictions on peaceful protests.

“We will list our suggestions before the Election Commission. There is a concern over the recent spike in the Jammu region, which had remained peaceful in the past. Also, there is an issue of lack of proper security cover for our senior leaders. The security of our leaders and former ministers was downgraded over the past years based on revised threat perceptions. We think such assessments are faulty and suffer from a lack of proper criteria. In turn, the BJP leaders have better security cover, which includes vehicles,” former MLA Ravinder Sharma told ETV Bharat.

“There are, too, many administrative restrictions on us. We can’t hold any symbolic protests in Kashmir Valley outside our party office. In Jammu, too, they don’t allow us to move even 100 yards from the party office. Besides restrictions, several permissions have to be obtained. All this will impact the campaigning of our candidates,” he said.

The Congress was also concerned that restoration of full statehood in Jammu & Kashmir was unlikely as the Central government had recently given more powers to the Lieutenant Governor, which meant that the border region was likely to remain a UT even after the polls.

“The demand for restoration of full statehood came up during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. We will keep flagging the issue,” said Solanki. Party insiders said they will urge the EC to set up polling stations at suitable locations and not at far-off places.

Assembly polls in Jammu & Kashmir have not been held since 2018 when the BJP withdrew support from the coalition government headed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP. The BJP-PDP alliance was formed in 2016.

On August 5, 2019, the Centre abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Special Status to Jammu & Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two UTs Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Since then, Jammu & Kashmir has been ruled by a Lieutenant Governor. The Centre recently amended the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, giving sweeping powers to the LG.