No one will hold Tricolour in Valley if special status is altered: Mehbooba
NEWDELHI: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti warned on Friday that any tinkering with the special rights and privileges of the people of the state will leave no one there to hold the tricolour.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief’s remarks came in the context of the issue of Article 35(A) of the Constitution – that empowers the state legislature to define “permanent residents” and accord special rights and privileges to them — being debated in the Supreme Court.
“On one hand, we talk about resolving the Kashmir issue under the framework of the Constitution and on the other we flog it,” she said at an event in Delhi.
Mufti, who heads a PDP-BJP coalition in J&K, said mainstream parties such as the National Conference and her own party risk the lives of their workers who stand up and carry the national flag in Kashmir.
“Let me be very clear. By doing this (challenging Article 35(A), you are not targeting the separatists. Their agenda is different and totally secessionist but you are weakening those powers which trust India and participate in elections and fight to live an honourable life in J&K,” she said.
“Who is doing it? Why are they challenging the Article 35(A)? I have no doubt in saying that there will be no one to hold national flag if it is tinkered with,” the chief minister said.
“The basic question is how much is the idea of India ready to accommodate the idea of Kashmir? This is the basic crux.”