New Delhi:
India on Monday addressed the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for its “unwarranted” comments about the demarcation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We are appalled that the OIC secretariat has again made unwarranted comments about India’s internal affairs,” said Arindam Bagchi, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“As in the past, the Government of India categorically rejects the claims of the OIC Secretariat regarding the territory of the Union of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India,” he said.
The demarcation commission, tasked with redrawing the parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, released its final report earlier this month.
“The OIC should refrain from carrying out its common agenda towards India at the behest of one country,” the ministry spokesman said in an oblique reference to Pakistan.
The completion of the demarcation paves the way for the holding of parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The former state has not had an elected government since June 2018.
Of the 90 constituencies, 43 will belong to the Jammu region and 47 to Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir have been treated as one entity for the purpose of delineation. The number of total assembly chairs in Jammu has increased from 37 to 43 assembly chairs.
