PDP president asks parties, separatists to unite for Art 35 A

SRINAGAR:AMID fears of tinkering with special status of Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday urged separatists and mainstream parties to join hands to defend Article 35 A.

The Supreme Court will on August 6 hear a petition on challenging the validity of the Article 35A of the Constitution, which empowers the state’s legislature to define “permanent residents” of the state and provide special rights and privileges to them.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti while addressing people at Sheri Kashmir Park in Srinagar on 19th foundation day of PDP said the regional parties need to bury their differences for state’s special status.

“I am informing to all the parties like separatists, National Conference, Congress that our biggest challenge is Article 35 A.”she said.“we should forget our differences and come together to defend Articles 35 A and 370 just like we did for the past two years,” Mufti said.

The statement by Mufti came a day after the moderate separatist leader and chief cleric of Jamia Masjid Srinagar Mirwaiz Umar Farooq warned of massive agitation in Jammu and Kashmir, if special rights accorded to the state by the Constitution of India were taken away.

Mirwaiz accused the BJP and RSS of changing the demographic nature of Jammu and Kashmir by doing away with the state subject law and flooding it with people from outside. He also warned that changing Kashmir’s status will never be allowed. In 2017, National Conference stalwart Farooq Abdullah too had warned of “mass agitation” if the law was repealed.