Aqzar Raheel
Srinagar|Oct, 6: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday backed the INDIA bloc’s campaign against the Election Commission over alleged deletions from electoral rolls, welcomed the Supreme Court’s scrutiny of the issue and ruled out implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Abdullah said the INDIA bloc had finalised a calendar of programmes during a recent meeting in Delhi, under which its MPs began a march towards the Election Commission on Tuesday.
“This process will continue,” Abdullah said, adding that the opposition alliance would continue raising the issue of voter deletions.
Abdullah said concerns over names being removed from electoral rolls had been raised repeatedly and welcomed the Supreme Court seeking responses from the Election Commission and the Union Government.
“It is a good thing that the Supreme Court is also raising questions, especially regarding the deletions on the basis of which people’s names have been removed from the voter list,” he said.
“We will have to wait and see how far this issue will be rectified through the courts,” he added.
On the Uniform Civil Code, Abdullah said his government would not implement the UCC in Jammu and Kashmir, arguing that a law intended to be uniform should be debated and enacted at the national level.
“We will not implement the Uniform Civil Code here,” he said.
Abdullah said the UCC could not be considered uniform if it was implemented only in selected states and called for the legislation to be brought before Parliament for debate.
“If there is courage, bring a law in Parliament and debate it there,” he said.
He alleged that the BJP was pursuing the issue separately in states where it was in power because it did not have the numbers in Parliament to pass such legislation.
On the reported action against Rohingya refugees in Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah said people staying illegally could not remain in the country but questioned the recent action against Rohingyas.
He said Rohingyas had been given shelter after being driven out of their country and allowed to remain until conditions there improved.
“Taking action against them suddenly now seems strange to me,” he said.
Abdullah, however, said the matter was under the jurisdiction of the Union Government and that the police were not under the control of the J&K government.
“The Government of India is taking the assistance of the police in this matter. The police are also not under our control,” he said.
On the Cabinet decision concerning mobile connectivity, Abdullah said land would be allotted to BSNL in areas lacking mobile phone coverage to facilitate installation of telecom towers.
He said connectivity had become essential for accessing government services, banking and other digital facilities, while several areas of Jammu and Kashmir continued to face poor or no mobile connectivity. “Today, without connectivity, you cannot do anything,” he said.
Abdullah also explained the decision to install ducts alongside roads, saying the move was aimed at preventing repeated excavation of roads for laying utility infrastructure.
He said roads were often dug up successively by different departments and service providers for water pipelines, electricity infrastructure and telecom cables.
“Wherever a road is constructed, a duct should be installed,” Abdullah said, adding that the ducts could later be used for laying cables and other utilities without repeatedly damaging newly constructed roads.
