National Conference President and Member of Parliament Dr Farooq Abdullah on Thursday called for an all-party meeting on Monday to discuss the voting rights of non-locals.
CPIM leader and Gupkar Alliance spokesman Yusuf Tarigami said that all political parties are being contacted for attending the meeting to be chaired by Abdullah on the non-local voter issue.
READ MORE: Voting Rights Of Non-Locals: Farooq Calls Meet; Protests In Jammu
Earlier, reacting to the statement of Chief Electoral Officer of J&K that every citizen of the country staying in J&K can have voting rights in Assembly elections, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti termed it as the last nail in the coffin of electoral democracy. Mehbooba said that she has asked Abdullah to convene an all-party meeting to decide the future course of action in this regard.
Meanwhile, reports from Jammu said that minor protests erupted in the region against voting rights for non-locals. Scores of protesters held banners and shouted slogans against the Election Commission of India’s decision on High Court road, Janipur, in Jammu. They asked the JK administration and Prime Minister of India to revoke the order and not allow outsiders to register their votes in Jammu and Kashmir.