Though promised return of the statehood with democracy at all levels and institutional transparency in the anti-graft bodies by non else than the Home Minister of the country on the floor of the parliament on August 5 last year when he announced abrogation of article 370, scrapping of article 35 A and bifurcation of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state into two union territories but belying all expectations there is no dead to enforcement of the executive orders for constitutional measures in Jammu & Kashmir. Virtually nothing in now left for the any incoming popular government which may take shape next year only as the proposed delimitation exercises is likely to take not less than one year for completion. Jammu & Kashmir, a relatively small territory in comparison to several states of the country not having sufficient resources to offer jobs to even it’s permanent residents is being portrayed as the biggest job market for the non locals setting here for 7-20 years. Had Jammu & Kashmir the resources sufficient enough to generate jobs even for it’s own permanent residents, the erstwhile popular governments won’t have gone with a begging bowl to railways and other ministries of the central government for accommodation and adjustment for only local youth at their local basements in Jammu & Kashmir. Despite knowing all about the job constraints in Jammu & Kashmir particularly the public sector, the incumbent central government without taking on board even the Parliament members who are the only elected representative in the eyes of law this time has imposed a domicile law which even naives believe needs an approval of the parliament under the present institutional arrangement in Jammu & Kashmir.
Hurting and insulting it is that recently released top mainstream leaders of Jammu & Kashmir who should have deeper concerns over the imposition of executive orders for constitutional measures don’t dare to throw up even a legal challenge either delimitation panel or the domicile law which would also strengthen their please against abrogation of article 370 and article 35 A and Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 in the supreme court of the country.
Ironically the powers to issue to domicile certificate are not vested with the judiciary but with the revenue department quite infamous for the role of it’s top functionaries in several huge land scandal like Marhama and Gulmarg land scams in yesteryears. Ironically one of the mainstream parties has in it’s recent statement said that migrant cards should be treated as valid documents for the issuance of the domicile certificates. The people of Jammu & Kashmir are humiliated to see the government announcing the decision to allow the non locals to submit their application from even without domicile certificates which the government says are to be produced at the time of interview or final selection. As far as the constitution of delimitation panel is concerned, it is a crude joke that elected parliament members of Jammu & Kashmir including a union minister have been named associate members of the delimitation panel with no dissenting, voting and vetoing powers but heads of the election departments of five north eastern states not having even a trivial knowledge about the key concerns of the democratic representations of different regions of Jammu & Kashmir have been appointed full fledged members with all dissenting, voting and vetoing powers. Necessarily such a delimitation commission should have also the approval of the both the houses of parliament keeping in the view that the proposed delimitation exercise is concerning the matters related to regional and sub regional representation of the people of Jammu & Kashmir for the assembly of Jammu & Kashmir even as union territory. Hurting and insulting it is that recently released top mainstream leaders of Jammu & Kashmir who should have deeper concerns over the imposition of executive orders for constitutional measures don’t dare to throw up even a legal challenge either delimitation panel or the domicile law which would also strengthen their please against abrogation of article 370 and article 35 A and Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 in the supreme court of the country.