rana: J&K delimitation draft defining moment for marginalised segments: Rana | India News – Times of India

JAMMU: Former National Conference functionary Devendar Rana, who had recently joined BJP, on Wednesday hailed the preliminary recommendations of the Delimitation Commission, proposing addition of six seats in the Legislative Assembly for the Jammu region and one for the Kashmir Valley, as a pathbreaking initiative and defining moment for the political empowerment of marginalised segments of J&K.
Addressing a group of supporters at his Gandhi Nagar residence in Jammu, Rana said equal participation, irrespective of regional, religious and ethnic affiliations, in decision-making holds key to transforming the destiny of this part of the great nation.
“The much-awaited report has rekindled a ray of hope among all those who have suffered the ignominy of exploitation and discrimination due to unjust political manoeuvring over the decades as governance remained the hegemony of a chosen few,” he said.
Rana said the draft report based on the basic tenets of delimitation — population, geography, topography, area, physical features, contiguity, convenience of administrative units, facilities of easy communication and approachability of public convenience — is the way forward for the political empowerment of the people of J&K.
He said the draft, to an extent, addresses the genuine grievances of the people of Jammu region, who have a sense of deprivation and discrimination, which was upheld by the Gajendragadkar Commission, Sikri Commission and Wazir Commission, but never corrected.