Jammu administration withdraws order authorising tehsildars to issue residence certificates to non-locals

The Deputy Commissioner of Jammu has withdrawn the notification which authorised all tehsildars to issue certificates of residence to people residing in Jammu "for more than one year".

This comes a day after the Jammu administration on Tuesday issued an order authorising all tehsildars (revenue officials) to issue a certificate of residence to people residing in the district for more than one year. The purpose of the certificate of residence was to ensure that no eligible voter is left for registration in the ongoing special summary revision of electoral rolls.

The new order read under the subject The Special Summary Revision 2022, acceptance of document for registration of electors, dated October 11 issued is withdrawn and be treated as void.

The political parties including PDP, National Conference, and Congress had opposed this order.

People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti said that the value of the vote of a Jammu and Kashmir voter will be finished.

She further said that this law is not applied anywhere in the country except in Jammu and Kashmir and the "BJP wants to eradicate the original citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and settle the outsiders."

"With the help of delimitation, they strategically planned to divide the constituency in such a way that it favours the vote of BJP, but people of J-K discovered that BJP is using it to gain their vote," she added.

Speaking to mediapersons in Kulgam, the PDP chief said, "This means that the value of the vote of a J&K voter will be finished. This law is not applied anywhere in the country except Jammu and Kashmir."

"I have been telling for 23 years that the desire of BJP to abrogate article 370 is illegitimate. They want to eradicate the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir," the former Chief Minister said.Mufti said that if people in the Union Territory come from outside and settle over there then the culture, society and employment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir will be lost.

"There is already high crime rate in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370. BJP want to create a clash among communities of UT. People of J-K need to understand that our destiny is unique," she said.

Earlier, taking to Twitter, Mufti had said that the Centre's "colonial settler project" has been initiated in the region.

"BJPs attempts to create religious and regional divisions between Jammu and Kashmir must be thwarted because whether it's a Kashmiri or a Dogra, safeguarding our identity and rights will be possible only if we put up a collective fight.

She further said, "The ECI's latest order for the registration of new voters makes it clear that GOI's colonial settler project has been initiated in Jammu. They will bear the first blow to Dogra culture, identity, employment and business."

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said that those who are outsiders should not be allowed to cast their vote in the Union Territory.

"People outside shouldn't cast their vote in the UT. Only local voters should be allowed. They can vote in their states in a sealed envelope, as per the system. The importance of voting in Jammu and Kashmir has been that only locals vote - be it Jammu or Kashmir," said the chief of the newly announced Democratic Azad Party.

Notably, in August, Election Commission announced the schedule of the Special Summary Revision in Jammu and Kashmir, and announced that the people who were not voters in the Assembly after the abrogation of Article 370 from the region can now be named on the voter's list.

According to an official, a person need not be a "permanent resident" of the Union Territory for the same.

The final electoral rolls after due disposal of all claims and objections filed within the stipulated time period would be published on November 25, 2022.

( With inputs from ANI )

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