‘All will be well when…’: Congress’s Ghulam Nabi Azad on J&K elections

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday said that if elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir, then “all will be well”. Home minister Amit Shah had earlier said that polls will be held in J&K, which became a union territory when Article 370 was scrapped in 2019, after the delimitation process was over.

“…If elections happen (in Kashmir) and the power is given in the hands of the people, then I believe all will be well,” the Congress veteran said. Answering a question about ‘Kashmiriyat’, a term often used to describe the culture of brotherhood in Jammu and Kashmir, he said: “Kashmiriyat is there like it was there before… There is no change. People still love each other.”

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 notified by the government paved the way for the creation of two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. According to the Act, the number of seats in the legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir will be increased from 107 to 114, and delimitation of the constituencies will be determined by the Election Commission.

Just a few days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited J&K for the first time after Article 370 was scrapped.

On Tuesday morning, Azad was seen offering namaz at the Parliament Street Mosque in New Delhi on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr. BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain was also seen at the Parliament mosque.

India is celebrating Eid today after the moon sighting on Monday evening. Hundreds and thousands of devotees were seen at Delhi’s Jama Masjid and Mumbai’s YMCA ground, offering namaz on the auspicious occasion.

On the other hand, security has been tightened in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan where communal clashes broke out and at least four policemen were injured. Restrictions have also been imposed in Srinagar, as well as Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh where communal violence broke out earlier this month.