LG’s nomination power undermines democracy in J&K: Tarigami

Srinagar, Aug 11: Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Kulgam, Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami on Monday said the Union Home Ministry’s justification for empowering the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir to nominate five members to the Legislative Assembly is a “clear attempt to undermine” the electoral democratic process in the region.“This move is yet another step in eroding democratic norms. The LG himself is an unelected nominee of the government, and giving him the authority to nominate members to the Assembly runs contrary to the very spirit of representative democracy,” Tarigami said in a statement issued here.He recalled that earlier measures, including the delimitation exercise, were carried out in a manner that amounted to “gerrymandering”.“No established norms were followed during delimitation. Kashmir, despite having a larger population, was given only one additional seat, while the other region got six seats. This arbitrary process compromised the fairness of our electoral system,” he said.The CPI(M) leader added that the delimitation process ignored population considerations and was marked by arbitrariness.“No criteria were followed, and no norms were adhered to. It was clearly designed to tilt the balance in a particular direction,” he said.“Now, the provision for nominating members—especially by an unelected LG—further worsens the situation. Nomination itself is contrary to the principle of an electoral democratic process, and in the present context, it openly indicates designs to weaken democratic representation in J&K,” Tarigami said.