BJP sticks to stand on Art 35A: ‘Shackled by coalition dharma’
JAMMU: Following Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, the coalition partner— Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday made it clear that the party sticks to its core stand (of abrogating Article 370 and Article 35A) but is bound by the alliance dharma.
While a harried Mehbooba Mufti paid a surprise visit to Farooq Abdullah, BJP as a party hasn’t stepped down from its core ideology of seeing abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir.
However, the top BJP leaders like minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh, national vice-president and in-charge J&K affairs Avinash Rai Khanna and deputy chief minister Nirmal Kumar Singh, who took part in the party’s core group meet in Jammu on Saturday evening, said the matter should be left to the Supreme Court.
“The matter is sub judice in the apex court, out of the power and in sheer frustration the opposition (National Conference and Congress) were raking it up,” Khanna said. Deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh said, “Though bound by alliance terms, we have maintained a status quo on constitutional matters.”
He said Article 35A was before the SC and the Indian judiciary was known across the world for its non-partisanship.
Singh, however, said the BJP was firm on its stand vis-à-vis Article 370 (abrogation from J&K), but they didn’t get 44 seats (to abrogate it). We still have the same stand.” Recalling fractured mandate in 2014 assembly elections, he said people advised them to give good and transparent governance and we agreed to it.
“The BJP and PDP worked together for three months on agenda of alliance and kept aside their ideologies to form the coalition government,” Singh said.
Dr Jitendra Singh also made it clear that the BJP has the same stand on special status of J&K and there was no shift in it.
“We have the same stand and it can’t be repeated again and again. The coalition government is running smoothly. They want to upset this government but we won’t oblige them. I appeal to both the partners (PDP and BJP) to focus on good governance and do not get distracted by Opposition’s criticism,” the minister said.
He said the PDP and BJP were bound to work under agenda of alliance document.