Amid claims of democracy and development, the Jammu & Kashmir Government in total breach of political protocol does not invite the incumbent Parliament Members the only elected representatives this time to the series of ongoing back to villages programs in their respective parliamentary constituencies with each of them comprising three districts in Kashmir valley. Instead of inviting MPs, the only elected representatives, to the back to village programs in their respective parliamentary constituencies, the government invites panchs and sarpanchs elected on a total turn out of few hundred votes to these back to village programs and as such this highly objectionable practice of the government is by all probabilities a huge insult to the institutions of public representation and as well as democracy. It may be mentioned here that former Governor of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state N N Vohra during the short stints of governor’s rule in the erstwhile state would never attend any public contact program without inviting incumbent parliament members of the concerned parliamentary constituencies and 2-3 time Ex MLAs of different assembly segments of the concerned parliamentary constituencies. By no standards of understandabilities neither the panchs and sarpanchs declared elected on turn out of few hundred votes nor the top bureaucrats can be a substitute to the elected MPs or 2-3 time ex MLAs. Interestingly the response to the ongoing back to villages programs is not as massive as claimed by the government. Inviting MPs of two parliamentary constituencies of the Jammu region to the back to villages programs in Jammu districts and sending no invitations to three Kashmir MPs to back to villages programs in three valley districts shows that government is selective even in carrying out it’s own biggest public outreach initiative for development in Jammu and Kashmir. A selective campaign for democracy and development is sufficient enough to indicate that government tends to reduce political space for the elected representatives in Kashmir valley to give the opportunity to fill the very space to panchs and sarpanches declared elected on a turnout of few hundred votes.
Marginalisation of elected representatives who are part of law making body in the biggest law making body of the country (parliament) shows the intents of the government in embarking on the ongoing initiative of democracy and development at the fag end of the summer season in Jammu & Kashmir.
The decisions taken to sideline the elected MPs and 2-3 time ex MLAs from the back to village programs selectively has in the eye of people drastically reduced the credibility of the institutions tasked the job of conducing back to village programs. Marginalisation of elected representatives who are part of law making body in the biggest law making body of the country (parliament) shows the intents of the government in embarking on the ongoing initiative of democracy and development at the fag end of the summer season in Jammu & Kashmir.
