With Lt Governor Manoj Sinha choosing to directly seek cooperation from the political parties in the recently started delimitation exercise, a message is going out that legitimacy matters the most for the delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir. Since delimitation is all about public representation in the new Jammu & Kashmir assembly and the parliamentary constituencies, the participation of the majority of sitting Parliament Members in absence of a popular government matters the most for the delimitation panel. Had there been a popular government in place, the endorsement of assembly or even the chief minister would have been sufficient enough to claim it’s legitimacy and above all the people in opposition won’t question the legitimacy of the delimitation panel and it’s working . Former leader of the opposition in the Rajaya Sabha Gh Nabi Azad has though favoured the participation of valley’s three parliament members in the delimitation panel but his remarks by all standards of understandabilities won’t give any legitimacy to the delimitation panel keeping in view the fact that he ceases to be Member of Parliament from Jammu & Kashmir. Siding with the tallest and strongest helmsmen of the central government including the Prime Minister and the Home Minister over not one but several key issues has also drastically changed public perception about Azad’s role as a leader of the main opposition Congress party. Keeping in view the spirit of public representation and it’s importance in democracy the delimitation panel can under no circumstances claim legitimacy without the approval of the majority of MPs from Jammu & Kashmir to recommendations which it may submit for the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir.
The commencement of the delimitation exercise only after the retirement of the Rajaya Sabha members of Jammu & Kashmir in February itself also lends credence to the allegations of the critics and the opposition parties that government was never ever serious in the involvement and engagement of the majority of parliament members of Jammu & Kashmir in the delimitation exercise. Had the delimitation panel started the delimitation exercise before the retirement of four Rajaya Sabha members of Jammu & Kashmir, the legitimacy of the delimitation exercise won’ t have come into question as more MPs would have participated in this delimitation exercise. Now all eyes will remain focused on the working of the delimitation panel and it’s final recommendations which in the backdrop of the boycott by all the three Kashmir MPs will not only generate another huge controversy but could also put the central government to lot of embarrassment .
Almost in all the cases so for states have been bifurcated into two states and consequently political leaders of such divided states never questioned the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies but leaders of Jammu Kashmir seeing their erstwhile state bifurcated into two union territories without their consent have every reason to boycott of the delimitation exercise before the restoration of the statehood. So better it would have been for the government to take the consent for the constitution of delimitation commission before constituting it . Seeking views of the majority of the parliament members only after the constitution of the delimitation panel shows the government’s non seriousness in the involvement and engagement of the majority of the parliament members from Jammu & Kashmir in this delimitation exercise. More over the commencement of the delimitation exercise only after the retirement of the Rajaya Sabha members of Jammu & Kashmir in February itself also lends credence to the allegations of the critics and the opposition parties that government was never ever serious in the involvement and engagement of the majority of parliament members of Jammu & Kashmir in the delimitation exercise. Had the delimitation panel started the delimitation exercise before the retirement of four Rajaya Sabha members of Jammu & Kashmir, the legitimacy of the delimitation exercise won’ t have come into question as more MPs would have participated in this delimitation exercise. Now all eyes will remain focused on the working of the delimitation panel and it’s final recommendations which in the backdrop of the boycott by all the three Kashmir MPs will not only generate another huge controversy but could also put the central government to lot of embarrassment .
