PDP stages protest against inclusion of non-local voters in J&K's electoral rolls

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday took out a protest march here against the inclusion of non-local voters in the electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir.

Several PDP leaders led by the party’s chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari took out the march from the party’s head office near Sher-e-Kashmir Park here.

Bukhari said the protest was against the “electoral demographic change being forced by the BJP” through inclusion of “imported voters” in the J&K electoral rolls.

He said the rights of the people of J&K are being “trampled.”

Read | Jammu and Kashmir parties oppose allowing non-locals to vote in Assembly polls

“They started the process of taking away the peoples’ rights and diluting public will here on August 5, 2019 and now they have added a new chapter to it by saying they will add non-local voters.

“They are trying hard to change the identity, democratic rights, and electoral demography of the people of Jammu & Kashmir, but it is not acceptable to the people of Jammu & Kashmir under any circumstances,” Bukhari told reporters.

He said the party leaders wanted to register a peaceful protest to reiterate what their president Mehbooba Mufti said on Thursday.

“This is an attempt to send a message that the people of Jammu & Kashmir will not tolerate this,” he added.

About the all-party meeting convened by National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday, Bukhari said the party hopes that all the political parties and the people of Jammu and Kashmir will come together “to fight this assault on our identity and rights.”