Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor GC Murmu also said that 450 central laws were now applicable to the Union Territory

Lieutenant-Governor GC Murmu has said that the J&K assembly polls would be held after the conclusion of the delimitation exercise.

He said the Election Commission of India appointed members of the Delimitation Commission and co-opted members. “There will be Census 2021. I don’t know what view they will take,” he said in an interview to The Tribune.

The Delimitation Commission was to work as per the Census 2011, but was opposed by several political groups. They wanted Census 2021 to be on the basis of the elections.

With regard to the abrogation of Article 370 and the sensitive domicile policy, Murmu said anyone can now settle in J&K ‘but the domicile policy will protect’ recruitment of locals in services. The LG said land laws will be made separately for West Pakistan refugees and others who were denied citizenship rights even after having lived in J&K for 73 years.

Describing Article 370 as a temporary provision that led to a psychological barrier, Murmu asserted, “There was no issue, it was a mere propaganda by a minuscule section”. He added that out of 890 Central laws, 450 were already applicable to J&K, The Tribune said.

The central government scrapped Article 370 on August 5, 2019. It was done to pave the way for better administration, good governance and economic development of the region.

Read the complete report in The Tribune