As per the recommendations of the delimitation commission four members are to be nominated to the legislative assembly for giving proper representation to certain groups of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Accordingly two persons from the displaced Kashmiri Pandits that must include one women from this community and two persons from the POJK refugees should be nominated by the government to legislative assembly to give democratic representation and political rights to these two sections of people. Delimitation commission recommended additional seats in the legislative assembly for Kashmiri Pandits and Displaced persons from POJK. The central government approved these recommendations regarding the nominations of persons from these two sections of the people. Thus the centre government decided that the J&K LG will appoint three persons from Kashmiri Pandit migrants to the legislative assembly necessarily one women from this section and two persons will be nominated from displaced persons from the POJK to the legislative assembly. The delimitation commission raised the total number of the elected legislative assembly seats to 90 and the five nominated seats will increase the total number of MLAs to 95.The new legislative assembly members were elected on October 8,2024. Omar Abdullah was sworn as the first chief minister of the Jammu and Kashmir UT on 16th October 2024 and the new assembly came into being after 8th October 2024.But to great dismay the government of JK UT has not still nominated the five MLAs to the new house. J&K’s first Assembly session was held on November 4, 2024. However those sections of people who were recommended to be given representation in Legislative Assembly are not nominated up to this time, thus delaying their nomination to the legislative assembly and thus defeating the very purpose of their nomination as recommended by the delimitation commission and approved be the centre government.
The budget session of Jammu and Kashmir assembly will commence on 3rd March 2025 and new budget will be unveiled in the assembly on March 7. The five MLA’s should have been nominated before the budget session of the assembly so that they could raise their issues and allocations before the government so that funds would be earmarked for the development of these sections of the people. But alas! no nomination from these groups of people has been made, thus defeating the very purpose of their nomination. Section 15, 15 A and 15 B of the J&K Reorganization Act 2019 authorize the LG to nominate five members to the assembly potentially altering the elected body’s composition. There five nominated members will have the same powers and position as the other elected MLA’s. Supreme Court had earlier declined to consider the plea challenging the authority of the LG to nominate five members to legislative assembly and has asked the petitioners to go to the high Court in this regard. The petition challenging the powers of the LG to nominate members to assembly is sub-judice in the UT’s high Court and the hearing on this plea will commence on March 20. It is very unfortunate that the genuine matter of nominating 5 members to the legislative assembly has wrangled in legal battle. It shows that the regional political parties such as NC, PDP and even national party Congress is averse to giving some representation to migrant KP’s and displaced persons from POJK and thus they are trying to scuttle the move of nominating 5 members by the LG. The fact of the matter is that NC, PDP, Congress and other like that the 5 members should be nominated by the elected government headed by the chief minister Omar Abdullah. Whatever it is, the sufferers are the migrant KP’s who are living as refugees in their own country for last more than three decades and there is no say for them in the legislative assembly and the government. In fact it is within the jurisdiction of the LG to nominate five members to the legislative assembly and there is no wrong in it as per the provisions of the reorganization act 2019 and so the issue should not have been snowballed into a political slugfest and controversy but it has happened and the high court is seized of the matter.
The High Court should decided on the petition challenging the authority of the LG to nominate 5 members to the soon so that the groups of people get political rights and they are heard in the assembly and the government. Thus the High Court should decide the plea immediately so that the interests of those sections to be represented by nominated MLA’s are not affected. Since the budget of the new government will be tabled in March 2025, and the marginalized sections such as the migrant KP’s and displaced refugees from POJK will not be represented and there will be no one to plead their needs and aspirations and the funds to be allocated to these groups of people. The best course in this regards would have been not to politicize the genuine issue of nomination of five members to the LA. It is very disturbing that everything is seen through the prism of mere and cheap politics. The betterment, ensuring political interest and welfare of the migrant KP’s and POJK refugees should be above petty politics. It seems that the regional parties such as NC,PDP and others do not like these sections to be given representation and so they are creating impediments in the way of nominating five members. If there is no direction from the honorable high court to the government, the LG should at the earliest opportunity nominate five members from migrant KP’s and displaced persons from POJK so that these groups of people will put forward their issues before the legislative assembly and the government in order to give some relief to these sections of the people. Therefore without any delay either high court should decide the matter or in the alternative the LG should use his power under the provisions of the J&K reorganization act 2019 and nominate five members to give fair representation to these sections of people so that they are heard and their issues are solved. No further delay should be made in nominating the members to the legislative assembly otherwise the very purpose of the nomination will be defeated and that would be the doomsday for these sections of the people.
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