Most political parties in Jammu & Kashmir, except for the BJP, on August 22, opposed the move to implement the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in J&K, and to allow outsiders to register as voters for Assembly elections in J&K.
“The fallout of granting voting rights to non-J&K residents will be that the next Assembly will be in the hands of outsiders. We do not accept this. We have differences but all parties present here have come together realising that tomorrow, we could be left out of our Assembly,” former Chief Minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, who convened an all-party meeting in Srinagar, said.
Dr. Abdullah said the leaders who had participated in the all-party meet had, “unanimously decided to oppose the recent announcement of the Election Commission of India about granting voting rights to non-J&K residents”.