India slams OIC’s ‘unwarranted comments’ on delimitation exercise in Kashmir

India on Monday said it was dismayed with “unwarranted comments” from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the delimitation exercise that was conducted in Jammu and Kashmir and urged the bloc to refrain from carrying out its “communal agenda” at the behest of another nation.

In a statement, ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said,” We are dismayed that the OIC secretariat has once again made unwarranted comments on the internal affairs of India.”

Earlier in the day, the OIC, in a series of tweets shared on its official social media handle, said it was deeply concerned over “India’s attempts to redraw the electoral boundaries” Jammu and Kashmir, altering the demographic structure of the territory and violating the “rights of the Kashmiri people”.

Bagchi said, “As in the past, the Government of India categorically rejects the assertions made by the OIC secretariat on the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir which is an integral and inalienable part of India,” he said.

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

The OIC said the ‘delimitation’ exercise is in “direct contravention of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention”. It also urged the international community, particularly the UN Security Council to take immediate cognizance of the “grave implications of such ‘delimitation’ exercises”.

Earlier this month, the delimitation commission, tasked with redrawing parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, finalised the Union territory’s electoral map, paving the way for elections in the restive region.

The three-member panel issued its final order, earmarking 43 seats to the Hindu-majority Jammu region and 47 to Muslim-majority Kashmir. Among the seven new seats, six are for Jammu and one for Kashmir.