The hype to land rights notification for Jammu & Kashmir issued from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) by star poll campaigners of the ruling Nitesh Kumar led BJP-JD(U)-LJP has given hope of a re-election to it in poll bound Bihar state, the second most populous state of the country . Such a highly controversial and objectionable move by all standards of understandabilities is an attempt to influence voters which is huge poll code violation by the party commanding and controlling the central government keeping in view a controversial remark by the Chief Minister of a state ruled by the political party in power at the centre. The timing choosen for issuing the notification over land rights in Jammu & Kashmir coinciding with the timing of the first round of polling in Bihar shows that the central government had planned the move only for furthering the poll prospects of Nitesh led BJP-JD(U)-LJP combine in Bihar amid a huge challenge to it from Tejashwi Yadav the leader of the detained Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD and the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Mahagathbandan (Grand Alliance) of which the main national opposition party Congress is a part in Bihar. Interestingly the top BJP leader and UP Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath had barely few days ago told an election rally in Bihar that a year after abrogation of Article 370 the non J&K residents can buy land in Jammu & Kashmir easily. With notification on land rights for outsiders in Jammu & Kashmir coming barely few days after Yogi’s highly controversial remarks over land rights in Jammu & Kashmir, there is not even an iota of doubt in the fact that the central government had planned the move of land rights for outsiders in Jammu & Kashmir only for appeasing voters on the eve of first round of polling in poll bound Bihar state.
Already the perception about the central government influencing the working of autonomous bodies directly handling the citizenship rights of the people is growing at very faster pace across the country and as such it has become imperative for the Election Commission of India to take note of the utterances of Yogi Adityanath over the subject of land rights for outsiders in Jammu & Kashmir and also that of the timing choosen by the Ministry of Home Affairs for issuing the notification on land rights in Jammu & Kashmir.
Keeping in view the deeper impact of the land rights notification over the political psyche of voters in Bihar, the issue deserves immediate attention and intervention of the Election Commission of India as the move by all standards of understandabilities is an attempt to influence voters in poll bound Bihar state and more so after the highly controversial remarks of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on land rights for outsiders in Jammu & Kashmir. Already the perception about the central government influencing the working of autonomous bodies directly handling the citizenship rights of the people is growing at very faster pace across the country and as such it has become imperative for the Election Commission of India to take note of the utterances of Yogi Adityanath over the subject of land rights for outsiders in Jammu & Kashmir and also that of the timing choosen by the Ministry of Home Affairs for issuing the notification on land rights in Jammu & Kashmir. By all standards of understandabilities the Election Commission of India is duty bound to take even suo moto cognizance of any attempt of the central or the state government to influence voters during poll campaigning in Bihar. People can only expect strict enforcement of the poll code violations during poll campaigning in Bihar from the Election Commission of India.
