Srinagar: Kashmiri Muslims residing outside Jammu and Kashmir have accused Election Commission of India of not treating them at par with the migrant Pandits and alleged that no arrangements were made for them in any part of the country for them to exercise their franchise in the ongoing Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Thousands of Kashmiri Muslims, including traders and students have been putting up in different states of India in large numbers. Majority of these people according to them wanted to vote but due to lack of arrangements they could not do so.
We fail to understand why Election Commission of India only provides such facilities to a particular section of Kashmiris only while the fact is that Kashmiri Muslims are more in number who have been putting up in large number in states like, Goa, Kolkatta, Maharashtra, Delhi, Bangalore, said a businessman Waheed Ahmed adding that Kashmiri people are present in every part of the globe.
A group of Kashmiri students studying in one of the university told CNS that the Kashmiri Pandit Migrants residing outside the state in Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab etc have been given facility to vote in their respective areas outside the state. But we have been denied this right. We fail to understand why the ECI ignored us despite the fact that we are greater in number, they said.
A lawyer practicing in New Delhi said that in the Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act 1957, there is already a special provision in Section 36 A to provide polling stations outside the territorial limits of the constituency to enable people, like him, to exercise his franchise.
He urged the Elections Commissioner to make arrangements for people like him and also other Kashmiri residents abroad to vote at the December 9 and 14 Assembly poll. Though there are time constraints in organizing this on a mass scale, yet it deserves to be tried out in a few states of India where Kashmiri Muslims are present in large number, said another businessman. (CNS)
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
ACT NOW |
MONTHLY | Rs 100 | |
YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |