'Unwarranted': India Slams OIC Over Criticism of Delimitation Exercise in J&K

OIC should refrain from carrying out its communal agenda vis-à-vis India at the behest of one country, Bagchi said.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. 

(Photo: PTI)

India on Monday, 16 May, hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for its remarks against the delimitation exercise carried out in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and asked the group to refrain from promoting its "communal agenda."

"The OIC should refrain from carrying out its communal agenda vis-a-vis India at the behest of one country," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

The OIC had issued a statement on Monday, saying that it expressed deep concern over "India’s attempts to redraw the electoral boundaries of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, altering the demographic structure of the territory and violating the rights of the Kashmiri people."

The organisation also added that the delimitation exercise was in contravention of certain United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions as well as the principles of the 4th Geneva Convention.

In response to the statement, Bagchi said, "We are dismayed that the OIC secretariat has once again made unwarranted comments on the internal affairs of India."

He also said that, as in the past, the government categorically rejected assertions made by the OIC secretariat on the Union Territory of J&K, which is an integral and inalienable part of India.

Delimitation Commission's Final Report

Meanwhile, the delimitation commission submitted its final report with regard to redrawing constituencies in the erstwhile state earlier this month.

As per the report, the 90 Assembly constituencies in the region will be bifurcated in such a manner that 43 seats will be part of the Jammu region, and the Kashmir region will have 47 Assembly seats.

Further, after consulting with associate members, representatives of political parties, citizens, and civil society groups, the panel decided to reserve nine seats for the Scheduled Tribes (ST), out of which six are in the Jammu region and three in the Kashmir Valley.