Municipal Committee office set on fire in South Kashmir’s Shopian

Srinagar : The office of Municipal Committee Shopian in South Kashmir was set on fire by unidentified people days Monday evening, days after the controversial local body elections held in the state. Most of the building was gutted, eyewitnesses said. The two major parties of the state – National Conference and the Peoples’ Democratic Party, had boycotted the elections, held amid threats from terrorist groups earlier this month.
The BJP had swept the polls, emerging victorious in four districts of south Kashmir by winning 53 of the 132 wards. In Shopian, the party won 13 of the municipality’s 17 seats unopposed as both contestants and voters chose to stay away from the elections. No nominations were received for the four remaining seats, election officials had said.
The PDP and the National Conference – which boycotted the elections citing uncertainty over the Centre’s stand on Article 35A of the Constitution — have called the election a “mockery” of democratic process. Governor Satyapal Malik, who was tasked with holding peaceful elections, however, brushed away their contention, saying “Kashmir is not only these two parties”.