Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday lashed out at the ruling BJP for trying to engineer a regional divide in the state over Article 35-A of the Constitution, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
"If the so-called assurance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was true why a counter affidavit hadn't been presented before the Supreme Court by the Centre to defend the Article 35-A," he said while addressing National Conference (NC) district and block presidents in Jammu.
“Instead of defending this Article 35-A, the Attorney General (of India) pitched for a larger debate on it. All this is being done under an elaborate conspiracy to rob J&K of its Special Status and rights," the former CM said and added his NC will not give permission to tinker with the constitutional provisions giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Article 35-A provides special rights and privileges to the permanent residents of J&K - a provision which came into effect in 1954 when the President used the powers conferred on him by Article 370 to introduce the ‘Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 1954.'
Omar expressed surprise over singling out of Jammu and Kashmir in respect of the special provisions related to State Subject laws notwithstanding the fact that Himachal Pradesh, North Eastern states and Lakshadweep were having almost similar laws regarding ownership of land and definition of domicile regulations.
"The BJP has been hell-bent to trample the special status of Jammu and Kashmir for a long time, which was incidentally their election plank in 2014. But once they came to power, the BJP realized that their designs cannot be achieved politically and therefore a short cut of proxy judicial activism through various affiliated NGOs has been initiated by clandestinely challenging the Article 35-A," he added.
The NC leader warned that abrogation of Article 35-A will not only affect the valley but Jammu and Ladakh regions as well. "People will lose jobs and scholarships not only in the valley but also in Jammu and Ladakh. If the Article is tampered with, you might find that nobody knows your language in the offices you visit as outsiders will take those jobs," Omar said.
The former CM said it is not true that women who marry outside the state face harassment as they lose their right to property, adding the Supreme Court has decided in favour of women owning property in Jammu and Kashmir. "My sisters who are married outside the state own property in Kashmir as much as I do," Omar said.
He also said that Kashmiri separatist leaders had no business talking about Article 35-A as "they do not believe in Indian Constitution."
Published 14 August 2017, 14:01 IST