DELIMITATION COMMISSION NC in spot: Time to take practical stand on ‘Aug 5’

JAMMU: Adopting a nonchalant stand on the developments of August 5, 2019, circumstances have brought National Conference to a stage where Jammu and Kashmir’s oldest political party will have to decide that whether it wants to protest or reconcile with the constitutional and territorial changes in the erstwhile state.
Upon request of the Delimitation Commission constituted for Jammu and Kashmir and north eastern states, the Lok Sabha Speaker has nominated all five members from the Union Territory in the lower house of the Parliament as associate members of the panel. The Delimitation Commission, under Justice Ranjana Prasad, is tasked to redraw the Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir –essential fallout of the August 5 events.
Of the five Lok Sabha members from Jammu and Kashmir, three are from the National Conference including the party president Dr Farooq Abdullah. The party is obviously in a dilemma: joining the Delimitation Commission would be a political stamp of approval to the monumental changes Jammu and Kashmir has undergone and staying out would a renewed confrontation with the Centre and exclusion from the process in which huge public stakes are involved.
Party’s working president Omar Abdullah was active on the twitter for the whole Thursday but he has chosen to ignore this development. Sources in Srinagar said that NC would take a decision tomorrow.
The National Conference’s public stand on the August 5 developments is a time buying strategy of “leaving the matter to the Supreme Court”. As political process takes more practical shape in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference will also have to make its engagements more practical.
The Lok Sabha Speaker has nominated 15 MPs from Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh as "associate members" of the Delimitation Commission to assist the panel in redrawing parliamentary and assembly constituencies of the northeastern states and the union territory. The 15 MPs also include two Union ministers -- Kiren Rijiju and Jitendra Singh.
The Delimitation Commission had recently written to Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla and presiding officers of the Assemblies of the four northeastern states to name associate members of the panel.
Jammu and Kashmir at present has no Legislative Assembly. It is a Union Territory with a provision of a legislature.
Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of states, for which the Delimitation Commission is set up, are drawn in as associate members to help the panel in its task.
According to a Lok Sabha bulletin of May 26 Dr Farooq Abdullah, Mohammad Akbar Lone Hasnain Masoodi, Jugal Kishore Sharma and Union minister Jitendra Singh will be the panel's associate members from Jammu and Kashmir.

The government had on March 6 constituted the Delimitation Commission, to be headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, to redraw Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland.
Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and state election commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir and the four states will be its ex-officio members.
The commission will delimit the constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, and of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland in accordance with the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 2002, a Law Ministry notification had earlier said.
The Commission had met on Thursday to review the progress of work so far.