New Delhi: The Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) of Jammu and Kashmir issued a clarification on the Revision of the electoral rolls on Saturday and said that there is no change in the special provisions for the enrolment of Kashmiri migrants.
"There is no change in special provisions for Kashmiri migrants for their enrolment in electoral rolls of their original native constituencies," the DIPR said.
According to government officials, the Representation of People Act 1950 and 1951 is applicable in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
As per the ACT, an ordinarily residing person can get registered in electoral rolls of Jammu and Kashmir. The statement came a day after the Election Commission announced it would give voting rights to those who were not voters in Jammu and Kashmir's Special Summary Revision.
"There is no change in the rules regarding the buying of property and jobs in the Jammu and Kashmir's government and no link to the representation of voters or otherwise," it added. "Number of Electors as published in Special Summary Revision of J&K State in 2011 was 66,00,921; and number of electors as on today in the electoral roll of J&K UT is 76,02,397. This increase is mainly due to the new voters, who attained the age of 18 years," the DIPR said.
It is to be noted that the move was opposed by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti who described it as the "last nail in the coffin of electoral democracy".
"After the abrogation of Article 370, Representation of People Act 1950 and 1951 is applicable. It allows ordinarily residing persons to get registered in electoral rolls of UT of J-K, provided he/she gets the name deleted from the electoral roll of his/her native constituency," said the government officials.
Notably, the Election Commission on Wednesday announced the schedule of the Special Summary Revision in the Union Territory, and said that the people who were not voters in the Assembly can now be named on the voter's list and the person need not be a "permanent resident".
Addressing a press conference, Hirdesh Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, J-K and Ladakh, said, "After the abrogation of Article 370, many people who weren't voters in the Assembly can now be named on the voter's list to cast their vote... and no person needs to be a permanent resident of the state/UT."
According to the schedule, the Integrated Draft Electoral Roll would be published by all Electoral Registration Officers on September 15. The period between September 15 and October 25 has been scheduled for filing claims and objections and all disposals in this regard would be completed by November 10.
Checking of health parameters and obtaining the Commission's permission for final publication, updating the database and printing of supplements are to be done by November 19. The Final Electoral Roll would be published on November 25.
The Chief Electoral Officer added that any person attaining the age of 18 years on or before October 1, 2022, who is otherwise qualified to be enrolled as an elector in the Electoral Roll, can apply for his registration during this special summary revision.
The final electoral roll after due disposal of all claims and objections filed within the stipulated time period would be published on November 25.
(With Inputs From Asif Qureshi)