Taking serious view of the alleged deletion of names of a number of Kashmiri pandits from the electoral rolls, coalition partner Congress on Thursday held Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and housing minister responsible for it and termed it as a "setback" to the Centre's efforts to get the pandits back to the valley.
However, PDP leader and Housing Minister Gulam Hassan Mir dismissed the allegations, saying pandits living outside the valley would be nominated to civic bodies for the first time in the history of Kashmir.
"We critcise the role played by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mufti Sayeed and Housing Minister, Gulam Hassan Mir in enemas deletion of Kashmiri pandits from voter lists in Kashmir valley in an autocratic manner without consulting Congress partner and state Cabinet," Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma told reporters in Jammu.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will meet with Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Gulam Nabi Azad and national general secretary, Ambika Soni on Thursday to discuss the issue, he said.
Terming the deletion shocking ahead of civic bodies polls, Sharma said he talked to mufti in this direction who expressed ignorance over the matter and said he cannot do anything.
"Similarly, I talked to state housing minister and PDP leader, Gulam Hasan Mir, who told me that it was done as per the rules and he cannot undo it," he said and accused both of them of behaving in an "autocratic" manner.
Slamming the PDP for not consulting Congress and other partners besides state Cabinet before taking such a major decision, he said "over three lakh pandits face deletion of names from the valley's electoral rolls."
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