Srinagar: Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday said that not even a single political prisoner is lodged in any jail in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I would like to confirm officially that not even a single political prisoner is lodged in any jail in J&K. Yes, there are some people who are lodged in jails, but they are under trials. If someone is locked up in a terror funding case and some people consider him a political prisoner, I think the law will take its own course. If someone is lodged in jail for anti-national activity and some people consider him a political prisoner… there are two types of prisoners… I would like to once again repeat that there are no political prisoners lodged in any jails in J&K,” Mr Sinha said in an interview to national news channel Zee News.
Mr Sinha said that Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) has been going on in Jammu and Kashmir for a long time and people believe that the region is now moving in the right direction.
Answering a question about Peoples’ Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) expressing disappointment over the outcome of an All Party Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi last month, the LG said there were other political parties as well in the meeting who have a different opinion. “On August 15 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear in his Independence Day address that Assembly elections would be held in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The LG said that Home Minister Amit Shah also assured on the floor of Parliament that Jammu and Kashmir would be given the status of a state in due course. “But, I don’t have the authority to decide when elections would be held. It is up to the Election Commission to decide when the Assembly elections will be held.
The LG said there are some institutes, including judiciary and Election Commission, which should not be questioned. “There institutions were renounced across the world and no criticism will deter its image,” he said.
He said the Delimitation commission is an autonomous body, which during its four-day visit to J&K interacted with all the stakeholders, including politicians and members of civil society. “There is no confusion and fear among the common masses in J&K about the Delimitation Commission. But, if someone is deliberately trying to create confusion among people, what can we say,” he added.
UNI
