Aazan Manzoor
Srinagar, 16 August (KB): The People’s Democratic Party leader, Iltija Mufti, welcomed the decision on holding assembly elections in J&K and raised concerns over the timing and fairness of the upcoming elections.
The Election Commission of India has declared today that elections will be held in three phases, commencing on September 18.
While welcoming the decision to hold elections after a six-year delay, Iltija Mufti, while addressing the press conference in Srinagar, asked why elections were postponed so long despite the government claiming normalcy in the region.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir from all sections are suffering,” Iltija said. She also expressed her concern regarding the fairness of the electoral process, referring to some recent administrative decisions by the LG administration.
She objected to the sudden transfer of 150–200 officials, calling it “arbitrary” and “biased,” alleging that they were aimed at benefiting the Bharatiya Janata Party.
She also condemned the political statements by the Director General, saying that they were beyond his jurisdiction.
“India is the world’s biggest democracy, and here, for the past six years, no election has been held. We welcome this move, but it should have happened six years ago,” Mufti said, appealing for free, fair, and transparent elections with no bias toward any political party.
Asked whether PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti was going to contest the coming elections, Iltija Mufti refused to make any statement and said, “Only Mehbooba Mufti can answer this question,” though she had earlier revealed that she wasn’t planning to contest.— (KB)
