Khalid Tufail slams harassment of Samajwadi party workers in Kashmir after mobile phones of four of his party workers were unlawfully confiscated by the local police. He urged for immediate action from Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure free and fair ‘Jashn-e-Jamhuriyat’.
SRINAGAR, Samajwadi party’s Chief General Secretary for Jammu and Kashmir, Khalid Tufail today voiced serious concerns over the unlawful harassment faced by his party’s supporters and workers in the Kashmir division.
Speaking to the media, Khalid Tufail, highlighted that while elections are a democratic right, Samajwadi party’s workers are being unfairly targeted by local police, pressurized and terrorized, and are being deprived of their constitutional right to participate in the festival of democracy – ‘Jashn-e-Jamhuriyat’.
He asserted that there have been troubling reports from there workers and candidates about harassment by the administration.
Expressing his dismay, Tufail said, “I am baffled by this indifference towards Samajwadi party. Why are these local political party so afraid of us that we are being restrained from campaigning? Just today, my candidate from the Hazratbal constituency informed me that four of his workers had their phone’s taken away by the police. This is unacceptable.”
He urged Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Election Commissioner of India and Braj Raj Sharma, State Election Commissioner, UT of Jammu & Kashmir, to take immediate action to address these violations of the ‘Model Code of Conduct’ (MCC) which, are hindering the democratic process.
He further added that a formal complaint will be lodged by the party’s candidate from Hazratbal constituency to ensure justice is served and that no political party is allowed to misuse the administration for personal gains.
First Assembly Elections after enactment of ‘Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019’
The state of Jammu & Kashmir is going for its first assembly elections after abrogation of Article 370, on 5th August 2019, by the central government. After the enactment of the ‘Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019’, assembly elections will be held for 90 seats, increased from 87, after bifurcation of J & K into two union territories: Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh.
This time Samajwadi party is contesting 20 assembly constituencies – fifteen seats in Kashmir and 5 in the Jammu region. Earlier, it contested the 2008, and 2014 assembly elections but failed to secure victory. Congress and the National Conference are in alliance while the Samajwadi party is supporting this alliance to stop division of ‘anti-BJP’ voters. Samajwadi party is already facing problem as it failed to secure ‘Cycle’ as its symbol in the Jammu-Kashmir elections. Different election symbols are already creating confusion which the Samajwadi state unit of Jammu & Kashmir are trying to overcome by extensive use of their party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s photographs. First phase of the polling was successfully and peacefully completed on 18th September. Second and third phase of elections are scheduled on 25th September and 1st October, respectively.
Subjecting party workers to undue pressure, confiscating their mobile phone is nothing but an ill-design to drive away people by unlawful means, from participating into the democratic process, said Khaled Tufail. He also urged the local police authorities to initiate an unbiased investigation in the matter to ensure the people gets a fair chance to exercise their constitutional right to campaign during elections, as well as the citizens gets an fair opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote. He urged the authorities to find out if, “whether the local authorities are acting as ‘puppets’ for some other political parties”. He said, the local administration need to be fair, impartial, considerate and swift in their actions particularly at the point of time when the people of the union territory of Jammu-Kashmir are overwhelmingly participating in the ‘Jashn-e-Jamhuriyat’.