Srinagar, Oct 10: Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma on Saturday termed the INDIA bloc’s proposed protest over alleged electoral irregularities “baseless”, accusing opposition parties of politicising the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and attempting to create unrest in the country.
Speaking to reporters, Sharma defended the Election Commission of India (ECI), describing it as a constitutional institution and saying that questioning the poll body in this manner was not good for democracy.
“The Chief Election Commissioner is a constitutional institution of India. It is not a person; it is an institution,” he said.
On the SIR exercise, the senior BJP leader said electoral rolls needed to be updated by removing the names of deceased and ineligible voters and correcting errors. He argued that the process was necessary to ensure that only eligible Indian citizens remained on the electoral rolls.
Sharma asserted that citizens were alert and would not allow the country to witness situations similar to those in Nepal and Bangladesh.
Reacting to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s reported comparison of Kashmir with Delhi, Sharma said the situation in Kashmir had changed and claimed that improved peace had created a favourable atmosphere for tourism.
“Today, everyone would like to become this Kashmir, where there is peace,” he said, adding that he would welcome a similar atmosphere in Delhi.
Referring to the reported assault on a Kashmiri youth in Delhi, Sharma condemned the violence and praised the youth for speaking out against instability in the country.
“The youth’s stand reflected concern for India,” he said, adding that the country should not experience the kind of unrest witnessed in neighbouring countries.
