Soon after the order was issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu district, all political parties, except the Bharatiya Janata Party, protested strongly and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to come to power by giving franchise to the people from outside the state.
The ruckus on the question of giving voting rights to citizens of other states living in Jammu and Kashmir is not taking its name to stop. The latest controversy has arisen out of an order of the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu, Avani Lavasa. But in view of the rapid reaction to the order, the Deputy Commissioner had to withdraw his own order hastily. But the whole issue has raised many questions and has given an opportunity to the opposition once again to question the voting rights given to the people living outside Jammu and Kashmir. This is the second time this year when the state government has to face a dire situation due to the statements and orders of the bureaucrats on the issue of giving franchise to outsiders.
Avni Lavasa, Deputy Commissioner of Jammu district, suddenly issued an order late on October 12, in which the Deputy Commissioner had said that even if one does not have any of the documents demanded by the Election Commission for the proof of permanent residence, then any state An interested person from outside can get his vote made. According to the order, for this, the concerned Tehsildar will have to get the residence verified that the person who has registered himself as a voter has been residing in Jammu and Kashmir for one year.
In this connection, the Deputy Commissioner has also authorized all the Tehsildars coming under him to do on-the-spot verification of the people living for more than one year and issue the domicile certificate properly. Due to this order of the Deputy Commissioner, a political storm arose here, while many questions started arising about this order itself. If seen, this order in itself was full of strange and inconsistencies. Questions also arose because out of 20 districts of the entire state, only the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu had issued such an order, while the work of revision of voter lists is going on in the entire state. After all, why did the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu feel the need to issue such an order?
It is noteworthy that in order to get registered as a voter, the Election Commission asks for eight types of documents for proof of residence, they include bank passbook, ration card, driving license, passport, copy of income tax return, rent-nama, electricity-water and gas connection. . By submitting any one of these documents, any person can get himself registered as a voter. Not only this, even if the postal department has been delivering letters to the address of the person concerned, the vote of a person can also be made. The important fact is that when the provision for residential document has been kept by the Election Commission, anywhere in the provision for residential documents, there is a residence certificate from the Tehsildar. If there is no provision like taking, then on what basis did the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu authorize the Tehsildars to issue the residence certificate? No reply has been given by the Deputy Commissioner to this question so far.
It may be mentioned here that at present the work of revision of electoral rolls is going on in Jammu and Kashmir. Voter lists will be fully prepared and finalized by the Election Commission and published by November 25.
Opposition raised questions
Soon after the order was issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu district, all political parties, except the Bharatiya Janata Party, protested strongly and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party wanted to come to power by giving franchise to the people from outside the state. In a strong reaction, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, linking this order with pride, said that for the sake of votes, the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to destroy the unique culture of Jammu and Kashmir. The National Conference, Congress and Apni Party have also strongly opposed this order.
People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an organization of all the major opposition parties, has also jointly tried to corner the government on this issue. The organization, popularly known as the Gupkar Alliance, has alleged that in the name of revision of electoral rolls, efforts are being made to snatch away their identity and political rights from the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
After protests by various political parties, the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu may have withdrawn his order, but the state government has suffered a lot in this matter. Even before this, in August last, a big controversy had arisen due to a statement of the Chief Electoral Officer of the state, Hridayesh Kumar. The Chief Electoral Officer, while sharing the information related to the ongoing process for review, revision and revision of voter lists, had said that this time 20 to 25 lakh new voters can be added to the voter list. But he did not clarify who would be the 20 to 25 lakh new voters.
The kind of doubts and controversies that were created by the statement of Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir Hridayesh Kumar, similar doubts were also being created by the order of the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu. With the withdrawal of the order by the Deputy Commissioner, the matter of giving voting rights to people from outside Jammu and Kashmir is currently quiet but this issue may heat up again in the coming days. The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) has been continuously barricading over this issue.
It is true that after the abolition of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, all the outsiders living in Jammu and Kashmir can also get the franchise. But the manner in which the bureaucrats are repeatedly making rhetoric in exuberance, the issue is becoming increasingly complicated.
It is noteworthy that after the abolition of Section 370 and the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir, the Representation of the People Act-1957, which was applicable in the state, has now been repealed and now the Representation of the People Act-1951 is applicable in the state like other parts of the country. With the implementation of this law, people from outside the state residing permanently in Jammu and Kashmir also get the right to register themselves as voters in Jammu and Kashmir as a voter if they wish. Can get it done. However, it is clear that any voter can get himself registered as a voter at only one place in the country.
It may be mentioned here that before August 5, 2019, only the permanent citizens of Jammu and Kashmir had the right to vote in the state. A permanent citizen of Jammu and Kashmir used to have a ‘State Subject’. This ‘state subject’ was used to certify the citizenship of a permanent citizen of the state. According to the situation at that time, no person living outside Jammu and Kashmir could cast his vote in the state.
