New Delhi, October 16
The Election Commission, it seems, is all set to restore the democratic process in Jammu and Kashmir.
The commission, which had announced polls in five states on Tuesday, has now convened a meeting of chief secretaries of six states tomorrow to find out how many Urdu-knowing employees they had on their rolls.
There were differences of opinion among the three-member commission with two commissioners Navin Chawla and S.Y. Qureshi favouring immediate polls, while the Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami wiling to wait a bit longer.
The commission will consult chief secretaries of Punjab, UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to know to what extent these states had Urdu-knowing government employees.
This part of the backup contingency plan in the event of the government staff in the
sensitive state not being able to offer their services due to some reasons.The availability of security forces is not a problem as the Home ministry has expressed its readiness in this regard.
In the past few days the National Conference has changed its stance and now wants early polls. It had initially opposed early elections on the ground that the atmosphere was not conducive for the exercise.
The Left and the BJP have already demanded immediate polls. The state is Governor’s rule.
