Take Centre’s help in Article 35A case, NC tells Mehbooba

NATIONAL CONFERENCE TELLS CM THAT SHE NEEDS TO CONVINCE THE CENTRAL LEADERSHIP TO DEFEND STATE’S SPECIAL STATUS IN THE SUPREME COURT

SRINAGAR: National Conference has advised the government to ask it sally B JP and the Centre for help against attempts to alter Constitutional provisions that give special status to the state, political sources said on Wednesday.

This was conveyed to chief minister M eh boob a Mufti during her surprise visit to National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah’s residence on Tuesday evening, amid the debate on Article 35A of the Constitution, which gives special status to the state under Article 370.

The National Conference told the chief minister that she needs to convince the central leadership, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to defend the state’s special status in the Supreme Court, which is hearing a PIL on the issue, the sources said. The provision, which em powers the J& K legislature to define the state’ s“permanent residents” and their special rights and privileges, has been challenged in the SC.

P DP, with 28 ML As, was asked to take on board its alliance partner BJP, which has 25 MLAs, in forging a common platform on the issue before reaching out to opposition leaders, the sources said.

Abdullah told Mehbooba she should meet the prime minister and all important central minister sand also the B JP to convince the Sangh Parivar, they said.

The controversy erupted in 2014 after an NGO ‘We the Citizens’ filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking that Article 35 Abe struck down.

The PIL said the state government, under the guise of Article 35A and Article 370 has been discriminating against non- residents. Article 35A was added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954.

While the J&K government contested the petition saying the president had the power to incorporate a new provision in the Constitution, the Centre recently expressed its reservations. It filed a reply and requested the threejudge bench to refer the matter to a larger bench as constitutional issues were involved in the case.

M eh boob a had said at a recent event in Delhi that there would be no one in Kashmir to uphold the national flag if Article 35A was tinkered with.