Centre, state govt creating 'confusion'; situation not conducive for polls: Cong

TNN Bureau. Updated: 9/13/2018 11:17:46 AM Front Page

SRINAGAR: Accusing the Centre and the state government of creating "uncertainty" over the panchayat and local bodies polls, the Congress's state unit on Wednesday said that it will decide on participation once the "confusion" is cleared, even as it termed the ongoing situation “not at all conducive for conducting the elections.”

The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) today held a meeting of the Congress core group, following which it decided to send a team to New Delhi to brief the party leadership on the issue.

The News Now in its yesterday’s edition had exclusively reported the same.

"There is a lot of confusion over the issue of conduct of these elections. Both the Centre and the state government have created the confusion. There is no clarity on part of both of them,” Congress state unit president G A Mir said at a press conference after the meeting here.

"The stand of the state government on the issue seems to be fluctuating with every passing hour," he said.

Mir said the party had raised certain questions on the issue when it met Governor Satya Pal Malik and it seemed the government was only testing waters and not serious on the issue.

“We have called on the governor twice in the last 10 days. Yesterday, also we met him. We had raised certain question on the preparations for these polls, but the concerns have not been addressed. The polls were announced without taking anyone onboard. It seems that the government is only testing the waters, he said.

The JKPCC president said the party is minutely watching the situation and wants the Centre and the state government to clear their stand on whether to conduct these polls or not.

“They have themselves created an uncertainty here. We want them to clear the confusion and come out with their stand on whether to conduct the polls or not.

"The state administration should put up a credible person before the people and ensure them that it is ready for the polls. Once the confusion is cleared, the Congress party will take a decision on whether to participate," he said.

He said a team of senior state leaders have held deliberations on whether to participate in the polls and team will be flown to New Delhi to have national leaders’ view on the same, following which the party will decide on participation in the elections.

On whether the situation was conducive or not for conducting the polls, Mir said, Even a blind person will tell you that the situation is not fit for elections in Jammu and Kashmir right now .

To a question of the announcement of boycott of the polls by the National Conference and the PDP over the issue of legal challenge to the Constitution's Article 35A, he said every party in entitled to its opinion, but linking the panchayat and local bodies polls with the hearing on the article in the Supreme Court by the government is wrong".

“This creates apprehensions in the minds of people,” Mir said.


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