Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir should be held soon after Lok Sabha polls: Azad
The Hindu
Ghulam Nabi Azad calls for Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir after the Lok Sabha elections; demands restoration of statehood.
Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad on March 9 said Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir should be held soon after the Lok Sabha election as the people of the Union Territory cannot wait anymore. He also said Jammu and Kashmir's statehood would be restored.
Also read: Altering status quo: On Jammu and Kashmir and Statehood
"We have been waiting for the Assembly polls for years. We hope that the polls take place immediately after the parliamentary election. I think the people of Jammu and Kashmir cannot wait anymore now," Mr. Azad told reporters after a public meeting in the Chittergul area of this south Kashmir district.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, however, described the upcoming visit of Election Commission (EC) officials to the region as "routine". "It is the job of the EC to visit States. This is not something new that they are visiting here. The EC starts preparing for elections months before in a State. This is routine," he said.
The former Union Minister said Jammu and Kashmir's statehood would be restored.
He took a dig at National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah over the latter's remarks on Mr. Azad targeting his father, NC president Farooq Abdullah. Mr. Azad had recently said NC leaders meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi after dark. "I do not know under what influence did Ghulam Nabi Azad target Farooq Abdullah," Omar Abdullah told a press conference in Srinagar on March 8.
Mr. Azad said those who go on vacations for months together should not question him. "I am in my senses 24 hours a day. Only those people do not remain in their senses who have time to take holidays. I do not go on vacations. I do not have time to take a holiday. For the first time in 18 months, I went to Gulmarg for half a day because a meeting was cancelled. Those leaders, who are on vacation for months together, what can they say?" he asked.
According to the “2023: World Air Quality Report”, India is the third most polluted nation globally and Delhi the most polluted capital city. Though Bengaluru (Rank 673) stands nowhere close to the topmost polluted cities, increasing temperature, irregular rains, growing population and infrastructure are leading to a slow change in the water and air quality of the garden city.