The nomination form of jailed Kashmiri cleric Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, popularly known as Sarjan Barkati, has been rejected by the Election Commission.
Former Chief Minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday called on the Election Commissioner to publicly disclose the reasons behind the rejection of Barkati’s nomination form as an Independent candidate.
“Sorry to hear about the rejection of assembly nomination form of Sarjan Barkati from Zainpora. Election Commissioner must make the reasons public for this decision. Democracy is a battle of ideas and everyone should be given a chance to participate in it,” Mufti said in a post on X while sharing a video of Barkati family grieving over the rejection of nomination papers.
As per the Election Commission of India 36 nomination forms including that of Barkati were rejected across 24 constituencies in seven districts of Jammu and Kashmir. As many as 280 candidates had filed nomination papers for the first phase of assembly polls in J&K. Of the 24 seats, voting to take place in the first phase, 16 are in the Valley and 8 in the Jammu region.
Barkati, was the central figure in the 2016 protest in Kashmir which was triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016 during an encounter. Barkati, a resident of Zainpora Shopian, had coined and popularized many slogans during the protests that lasted for over three months.
He was later booked under Public Safety Act for organising anti-government rallies. He remained in custody for over four years. Last year, Jammu and Kashmir’s Police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) arrested Barkati in a terror funding case. His wife was also arrested in the case.
Before filing the papers of Barkati, his daughter Sugra Barkati said she was hopeful that the people from Zainpora and Kashmir will help the family in securing release of her parents.
The Election authorities also rejected the form of Abdul Bari Naik, an assistant professor who was dismissed from service in 2021 under Article 311 of the Constitution. He had filed his nomination papers as an Independent candidate from Devsar Kulgam.
