Delimitation draft ‘made in JK BJP office’: Opposition over leaked audio

The BJP was on Friday accused by its rivals of scripting in its office a draft report of the Delimitation Commission after an audio of a purported conversation between the party’s Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Ravinder Raina and ex-minister Shakti Parihar surfaced on social media.

While the rival parties cast aspersions on the independent working of the commission, the BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Raina termed it a “conspiracy” against the party and claimed the audio was “fabricated and concocted”.

Demanding a probe, the Jammu and Kashmir Congress said the leaked audio has vindicated its stand that the administration “scripted the delimitation report in their (BJP party) office”.

“It is against the autonomy of the constitutional and autonomous independent institutions of the country and cast aspersions on its independent working,” JK Congress chief Gulam Ahmed Mir told reporters here.

The Congress demanded the delimitation commission should review and redraw its report before putting it in public domain while taking into account various parameters, physical features and public convenience as well as the means of communication.

PDP said the audio has proved as correct the allegation that the report was prepared on the directions of BJP leaders.

In the audio, Raina is purportedly heard pointing towards the inclusion of some area in his Doda Constituency.

Rejecting the draft report of the Delimitation Commission, General Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura alleged the panel has “brazenly followed BJP’s divisive agenda”.

“It appears the report of the Delimitation Commission was drafted at Dr Shyama Prashad Mukherjee Bhawan in Trikuta Nagar and was only signed by the members of the panel,” he said at a press conference at Jammu.

“Every section of the society has opposed the draft report which is a clear indication that it was prepared only to pursue the BJP’s agenda in Jammu and Kashmir.”

Hanjura said erasing the Habbakadal constituency from the political map of Jammu and Kashmir is a clear indication of BJP’s “nefarious designs to deprive Kashmiri Pandits of their representation in the Assembly”.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Raina, however, claimed that the audio clip was edited as a “conspiracy against the BJP”.

“It is fabricated and concocted. The audio clip has been edited and three versions joined together,” he told PTI.

Raina claimed that he had talked to Parihar about the issue eight months ago when the delimitation commission had issued a notification that there will be no overlapping of areas of districts.

“I was referring to Assar area, which is part of Doda district but is part of Ramban assembly constituency”, he clarified.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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