Apni Party demands raising minimum residency period to 50 years for J&K Domicile eligibility

SRINAGAR: Apni Party supremo Altaf Bukhari on Saturday demanded raising the minimum residency period to 50 years to be eligible for domicile in Jammu and Kashmir.

He also appealed to Jammu and Kashmir MLAs to pass a bill for a change in the domicile law.

“My appeal to the assembly, in which we have no representation, there are 90 MLAs, is to first pass a bill on the domicile law. According to our domicile law, domicile is granted after 15 years. This is in our own jurisdiction, this should be increased to 50 years,” Bukhari told reporters.

He also called for the release of youngsters from Jammu and Kashmir jailed in various prisons around the country.

“Budget is not an issue for me. If there is any issue for me, it is that my youth, elderly and other people are still locked in jails. Perhaps, the budget kept coming in the past seven years as well when there was no government here,” the Apni Party supremo said.

“What is there in this budget that will provide a huge relief to the people of my Jammu and Kashmir?” he said on the budget presented in the assembly by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday.

Bukhari said his party neither praised nor opposed the budget.

Appealing to the MLAs to pass a resolution seeking the release of youngsters from Jammu and Kashmir, he said, “As a first step, they should be transferred here (from various jails around the country).”