Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], October 1 : National Conference candidate from the Pattan Assembly constituency, Riyaz Bedar, on Tuesday claimed that Jammu and Kashmir's participation in the election was excluded for 10 years.
"Under a criminal conspiracy, we were kept out of the voting process. The biggest problem is that we are an important part of Indian democracy. Our participation in this Indian democracy through the assembly didn't take place in 10 years," he said.
Riyaz Bedar further said, "We are an important part of Indian democracy and people are very excited to vote. They want their own government that can raise the issues of the public...I will work to ensure the development of the constituency."
He promised to provide essential facilities to Jammu and Kashmir if he wins the election.
"The point is that the basic needs of people are drinking water, employment, job generation, health care, food and electricity. These are the basic problems of people. Political problems on one side and other problems of common people."
He also accused the Union government of disbanding the JK state assembly and rendering it defunct.
"The vote is very important and I feel that if we had an assembly, the law of the Delhi Parliament wouldn't have been imposed here... as simple as that... I am talking about the Constitution. So, under the same conspiracy, the Delhi government broke our assembly, and then it was rendered defunct. They took away our flag and our constitution," he said.
Meanwhile, the polling for the third and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections began at 7 am today with people queueing up at a polling station across 40 constituencies in seven districts of the Union Territory. Among the 40 constituencies, 24 are in the Jammu division and the rest in the Kashmir Valley.