New Delhi : The government on Wednesday said holding polls in Jammu and Kashmir was the prerogative of the Election Commission and stressed that statehood would be granted to J&K at an “appropriate time”.
Replying to written questions in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the decision to schedule elections in J&K was the prerogative of the Election Commission of India.
The erstwhile state was converted into a union territory on August 5, 2019 and bifurcated into Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
In reply to another part of the question about any timeline for granting statehood to J&K, the minister said, “Statehood would be granted to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time.”
In reply to another question about purchase of lands in J&K, the minister said that according to the information provided by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, a total of seven plots have been bought by people from outside J&K.
“All the seven plots are located in the Jammu division,” the minister said.