New Delhi, Apr 16: National Conference leader and Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi on Thursday accused central government, alleging that the delimitation exercise is being used as a tool for “gerrymandering” to irreversibly tilt the country’s political balance in favour of four to five northern states.
Raising the issue in Parliament, the MP as per Kashmir Convener also voiced strong discontent over the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, claiming that all constitutional protections sought by Jammu and Kashmir since 1947 were disappearing.
“The Prime Minister tried to confuse us by saying we are all against the Women’s Reservation Bill. No. We are against the delimitation and the gerrymandering done in its name,” MP Mehdi said, clarifying that his party supports the Women’s Reservation Bill which has already been passed by the House.
The parliamentarian alleged that the previous delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir was carried out on communal lines, which ruined the population balance between Muslims and Hindus in the Jammu region. “One particular party, the BJP, benefited. We do not want this gerrymandering to be imposed on the entire country,” he said.
On the abrogation of Article 370, MP Aga Ruhullah said it was a “misrepresentation of the Constitution.” He argued that the concurrence of the J&K constituent assembly was never taken and only the Governor’s concurrence was cited.
He warned that the proposed new delimitation would concentrate political power in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Gujarat — states that would together control nearly 400 Lok Sabha seats. “Jammu and Kashmir has only six votes. Whether we are for or against Article 370, these larger states can impose anything on us. We are helpless,” he added.
The MP further cautioned that the adverse impact of the exercise would also be felt by the southern states, West Bengal, and the Northeast. “Bengal has become Kashmir. Northeast has become Kashmir. They should know how Kashmir has been mistreated,” he said.
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