Srinagar Oct 13: Former Sadr-e-Riyasat in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state and veteran Congress leader, Dr Karan Singh has demanded statehood to J&K and a “stable” government in the next few months through free and fair elections.
In a statement issued today, Singh said the recent killings of civilians in Kashmir and the those of the Army soldiers in a gunfight along the Poonch-Rajouri border on Monday “point to the importance of starting the political process as soon as possible” to have a “stable government” for the people.
“While the LG and UT government are doing their best, this cannot be a substitute for a freely elected legislature and a full-fledged popular government,” he said.
Singh said the delimitation process “should not be unduly prolonged” while urging the J&K Delimitation Commission to “fix its own time schedule for completing the exercise”.
“Once that is done and statehood is restored to Jammu and Kashmir, the process of free and fair elections can begin, resulting hopefully in a stable government within the next few months,” he said.
“This seems to me to be the only logical and practical way of proceeding”.
Singh offered condolences to the families of civilians recently killed in Kashmir “drawn from all three religions in the valley” and those of the slain soldiers.