Srinagar, Oct 06: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s intervention in the issue of voter deletions, said the INDIA bloc’s campaign against the Election Commission would continue and ruled out implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the Union Territory.
Speaking to reporters, Abdullah said the INDIA bloc had finalised a calendar of programmes during a recent meeting in Delhi, with the campaign beginning with a march by its Members of Parliament to the Election Commission.
“Today’s programme was a march to the Election Commission, and this campaign will continue,” he said.
Abdullah said the media had begun highlighting concerns over voter deletions, an issue he claimed had repeatedly been raised by the opposition.
“It is a good thing that questions are now being raised in the Supreme Court as well,” he said, referring to the court seeking responses from the Election Commission and the Government of India on the deletion of names from electoral rolls and the basis for those deletions.
“We will have to wait and see to what extent the matter can be rectified through the courts,” he added.
‘We will not implement UCC here’
On the Uniform Civil Code, Abdullah categorically ruled out its implementation in Jammu and Kashmir and questioned the BJP’s approach of pursuing the measure through individual states.
“We will not implement the Uniform Civil Code here,” he said, adding that several other state governments had also opposed its implementation.
Abdullah argued that a law intended to be uniform should be debated and considered at the national level rather than introduced separately by individual states.
“If they have the courage, let them bring a law in Parliament and debate it there. Let us see whether it gets passed,” he said.
Claiming that the BJP did not have the numbers to secure the passage of such legislation in Parliament, Abdullah alleged that the party was pursuing the measure incrementally through states where it was in power.
“That is why the BJP is implementing it gradually, state by state, which is wrong,” he said.
“If we look at democracy in its true sense, this issue should be debated at the Centre and not separately in different states,” he added.
Questions action against Rohingya refugeesJammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s intervention in the issue of voter deletions, said the INDIA bloc’s campaign against the Election Commission would continue and ruled out implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the Union Territory
Abdullah also questioned the action being taken against Rohingya refugees living in Jammu and Kashmir, saying they had been given shelter after fleeing their country.
“Those who have come from Bangladesh without permission are a separate matter. But the Rohingya, who are being unnecessarily targeted, are a different case,” he said.
He said the refugees had been allowed to stay until conditions in their country improved.
“When they were driven out of their own country, we gave them shelter and some space to stay here until conditions in their country improved,” Abdullah said.
“Taking action against them suddenly now seems strange to me,” he added.
The chief minister, however, said the matter was beyond the control of his government, as the action was being taken by the Government of India with police assistance.
“The police are not under our control either. It would be better to put these questions to those who exercise command over the police,” he said.
Mobile connectivity, underground ducts
On the administration’s recent decisions concerning mobile connectivity and underground utility ducts, Abdullah said the government intended to improve access in areas that remain without mobile signals and reduce repeated digging of roads.
“At a time when we are talking about artificial intelligence, there are still areas in Jammu and Kashmir where mobile phone connectivity is unavailable,” he said.
He said the Cabinet had decided to allot land to BSNL in areas without mobile signals to facilitate the installation of mobile towers.
Explaining the decision on underground ducts, Abdullah said roads were frequently dug up by different departments to lay water pipelines, electricity infrastructure and telecommunications cables.
“One department after another keeps digging up the roads,” he said.
He said installing ducts during road construction would allow departments to use the same infrastructure instead of repeatedly excavating roads.
“That was the purpose of the decision. Now it needs to be implemented,” he said.
Asked how satisfied he was with his government’s performance as it approached two years in office, Abdullah said it was too early to assess its record.
“Let two years be completed first. After that, we will tell you what we have done and what we have not done,” he said.
Abdullah also declined to comment on reported remarks by former chief minister Farooq Abdullah concerning Jawaharlal Nehru, saying he had not heard the statement and did not know the context in which it was made.
“I cannot comment on what was said or the context in which it was said, because I am hearing this from you for the first time,” he said.
