Do not mislead people of J&K on Article 35 (A), says BJP

Despite being a partner of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the BJP on Tuesday said it was firmly of the opinion that opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir were misleading citizens on Article 35(A) and their flimsy claims of how its abrogation could hamper the state’s growth.

On July 28, PDP president and chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, at a function in New Delhi, had said, “If special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir are tinkered with, then there would be no one in the state to hold the Tricolour.”

National Conference president and former CM Farooq Abdullah also said abrogation of article 35(A) is akin to playing with fire and can trigger a bigger revolt across the state than the 2008 Amarnath land row.

However, without naming PDP, the BJP targeted Abdullah and said it believed that time has come to expose the “doublespeak” of these parties.

Arun Kumar Gupta, state BJP spokesperson, said Article 35(A) is an unconstitutional provision of law, finds no place in the Constitution, and is supposed to be in operation without being passed in the Parliament of India.

“It is a great paradox that some article is being discussed in public domain without understanding its legal position. Misleading public on various issues, including the one under discussion, has become routine for NC, Congress and others, but public today is not ready to go by versions which suit their individual constituency,” he said.

Gupta said this provision has done great harm to all three regions of the state by not allowing anybody from other parts of the country to settle here, which results in total isolation and no growth of institutions required to generate employment, revenues, resources and the overall economy of the state.