By PTI
SRINAGAR:The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said it cannot participate in the ongoing delimitation process in Jammu and Kashmir as only elected representatives can take part in it and the party has none at present.
Addressing a press conference here, chief PDP spokesperson Suhail Bukhari said the delimitation commission has been designed in a way that only elected representatives can be part of the exercise.
Bukhari was asked about the stand of his party as well as that of the Peoples’ Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) — of which the PDP as well as the NC are constituents — over the issue.
“I cannot say anything on behalf of the alliance. However, as far as the PDP is concerned, I want to tell you one thing that it is not about the alliance taking part in it or not. It is the decision of the individual parties of the alliance,” he said.
The PDP cannot participate in the proceedings of the commissions as the party has no members in Parliament or in the legislative assembly, he said.
“The way the commission has been designed, only elected representatives are part of the exercise. The PDP as of now has no MP or legislator, so we cannot participate in the process,” he said.
“As far as the NC’s participation is concerned, I think it is that party only that can answer this question,” he said.
While the PDP has no MP in the Lok Sabha, its MPs in the Rajya Sabha have either completed their term or were expelled.
Asked to comment over the remarks of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that the immigrant Muslims should follow family planning norms for population control, Bukhari said Sarma was not the first person to say something like that.
“We have been hearing many people, especially BJP leaders, say this for some years now. There is no sense in finding any sense in these remarks,” he said.
