Only a public agitation against recommendations of Delimitation Commission can sway decision: Saifuddin Soz

Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Prof. Saifuddin Soz have said that only a public agitation in Jammu and Kashmir against the recommendations of the J&K Delimitation Commission allotting six seats to Jammu and only one seat to Kashmir could sway the final decision on the issue.

In a press statement issued on Friday, Soz opined that taking the matter to the Supreme Court may not yield the desired results since it was a political issue.

“I have weighed the pros and cons of mainstream Kashmir taking the matter regarding Delimitation Commission’s latest recommendations, allotting six seats to Jammu and only one seat to Kashmir, to the Supreme Court. The Court will certainly decide the case on the basis of a ‘Tight-Jacketed Rule’. The recommendation of the Delimitation Commission could be enough to convince the judiciary to accept them straightaway. Then, the Court’s advice to the people of Kashmir could be to rest content with the same,” Soz said.

“Public opinion on this issue is the best course available to the mainstream political class. It should agitate this matter before the people of Jammu and Kashmir. It is essentially a political issue and it should be agitated before the ‘awami adalat’. A powerful, democratic, peaceful and sustained public movement is the answer. The sooner we do it, the better,” he said.

“I have properly imagined that the repercussions of agitating this proposition before the people of the state could produce results. Even if the Central government remains adamant and goes by what the Delimitation Commission has suggested, we must have, in the meantime, aroused public interest on this crucial public issue, enormously. The peoples’ court is the right answer. A strong but peaceful and democratic movement can fire the public imagination on this issue,” he added.

“The J&K Peoples’ Conference should look to this issue beyond the rule book. This surely is not the time to work on cross purposes. Our recent political history could guide us better. Was Quit Kashmir Movement sanctioned by law? A political problem is resolved through a public movement. So, a sustained, democratic public movement is the answer. The J&K mainstream political class should explain their perceptions to the people directly. That way alone, they will win the battle,” Soz said.