National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday rejected the revision of Jammu and Kashmir electoral rolls (J&K) saying the inclusion of non-local voters therein would compromise the territory’s identity.
Abdullah had convened an all-party meeting at his residence in Srinagar to discuss the issue earlier. He had invited all major political parties except the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the meeting. However, the meeting was attended by National Conference, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Congress, Shiv Sena, Awami National Conference, and Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Following the meeting, Abdullah announced that the parties, which participated in the meeting, will consider challenging the revision of the electoral rolls before the Supreme Court. Following the revision of the electoral rolls, he said, the assembly will be in the hands of the outsiders and the people here will lose rights. “We have decided that we do not accept it,” he added.
Last week, Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar Singh had said that people residing in the region, including migrant workers, businesspersons, students, and armed forces personnel, will be allowed to vote during elections. He had further said that around 2.5 million new voters will be enrolled in the electoral rolls.
