Art 35A not a sacred cow that can’t be touched: BJP

MEHBOOBA’S TRICOLOUR REMARK Coalition partner expresses shock

JAMMU: Expressing shock and surprise over it sally and Jam mu and Kashmir chief minister Me hboob a Mufti’ s remarks on the Tr icol our, the BJP on Saturday asserted that Article 35-A of the Constitution, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, is“not a sacred cow that cannot be touched ”.

The J&K unit of the BJP said that while the party stands by the ‘Agenda of Alliance’ with the PDP and won’ t seek alteration of existing constitutional position ,“it is equally true that Article 35- A has done more harm to the state than any other provision of law.”

“We are greatly shocked and surprised by the statement of Mehbooba that by challenging Article 35-A, the nationalist forces in the Valley get weakened and that... India will not get a shouldertocarry itsnationalflag in the state”, BJP state spokesperson Virender Gupta said.

“Article 370 was incorporated in Indian Constitution as a temporary provision. It (Article 35-A and Article 370) is not a sacred cow that cannot be touched,” he said.

BJP’s chief spokesperson for J&K,Su nil Set hi, said ,“The chief minister’s statement on Article 35 A doesn't depict the true picture and is politically incorrect. Article 35A rather is introduced in Constitution of India through process of Article 370. In fact, it has led to disparity and inequalities in the state.”

RAISING TR I COLOUR HAS NOTHINGTODOWITH ARTICLE 35 A: J IT END RA

Responding to M eh boob a’ s comments, minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Jitendra Singh said that raising national flag in the state has nothing to do with Article 35 A and Article 370 of the Constitution.

Singh added that the Tri colour “will fly high in the Valley, as much as it does in any other Indian state”.

“The Tricolour is sacrosanct for us. It will fly high in the state , as much as it flies in other states of the Indian union. Jammu and Kashmir is as much part of the Indian union as any other state. If at all there is any issue pertaining to the state, it is to find ways to retrieve the part of J&K which is under the illegal occupation of Pakistan even after 70 years of partition,” the minister said.

He further added that the Indian Parliament had unanimously passed a resolution in 1994 to retrieve Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) so as to “restore the territorial integrity of J&K in the same format as it was handed over to India at the time of accession by Maharaja Hari Singh”.

WHAT MEH BOOBA SAID

On Friday, Mehbooba had said that any change in Article 35A of the Constitution, which gives special privileges to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be in the state’ s favour. She had also warned that if the state’s special rights and privileges are tinkered with, then there would be none in the state to hold the tricolour.

Respondingto a petitionin the Supreme Court that challenges the state’s special status, shesaid, “On one hand, we talk about resolving the Kashmir issue under the Constitutional framework and on the other hand we flog it.”

“Who is doing it? Why are they doing it (challenging the Article 35A)?. Let me tell you that my party and other parties who carry the national flag there( in Jam mu and Kashmir) despite all risks...I have no doubt in saying that there will be no one to hold the national flag if the special status is tinkered.”

M eh boob a went onto add ,“Let me be very clear. By doing all this (challenging Article 35 A ), you are not targeting the separatists. Their (separatists) agenda is different and it is totally secessionist.”

Article 35 A is being challenged in the Supreme Court by NGO-We The Citizens--on its legal basis because the article was never presented before the Parliament and was instead executed through Presidential orders. The Supreme Court has now referred the case to a three-judge bench.

The Tricolour is sacrosanct for us. It will fly high in J&K as much as it flies in other states of the Indian union. J&K is as much part of the Indian union as any other state.

JITENDRA SINGH, minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office