'All will be well': Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad bats for J&K elections

New Delhi, May 4: Batting for J&K elections, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that things will be back to normal in Jammu and Kashmir only after elections are held in the Union Territory and power is given to the people. His comments come at a time when ongoing talks are going on assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

 

The senior Congress leader said, "If election happens (in Kashmir) and the power is given in the hands of people, then I believe all will be well." When asked about the 'peace' situation and '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 are the same. They still love each other. The same secularism and socialism exist there."

 

 

Earlier this year, Home Minister Amit Shah had said that polls would be conducted after the delimitation exercise was over, following consultation with political parties. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 paved the way for the creation of two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. This came after the central government bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in August 2019.

 

 

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. As per reports, Delimitation Commission is going to submit its final report within days. On April 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Union Territory for the first time after Article 370 was scrapped.