Almost a year after the scrapping of special status and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, politicians in the Union Territory (UT) seem to be ready to re-calibrate their politics according to the post-Article 370 reality.
Kashmir’s oldest party, the National Conference (NC), hasn’t said a word about the future course of action on Article 370 since August last. The NC president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Sunday in an interview with a news agency called for the restoration of the statehood of J&K.
On revocation of J&K’s special status, he didn’t speak much and instead pinned hope that the Supreme Court would render justice by striking down the repeal of Article 370 provisions.
Abdullah’s son Omar, also a former CM in an article in a national daily said that he would not contest any Assembly elections as long as J&K remains a Union Territory.
Sharing excerpts from his piece on Twitter, he said: “J&K participated in democratic processes, shared in the nation's development but the promise made with it wasn’t kept. Removing 370 may have been the popular thing to do, but going back on a nation’s sovereign commitments was not the right thing to do.”
Congress veteran from J&K and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad also demanded the restoration of statehood before holding assembly polls in J&K. Azad, also a former CM of J&K, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi where he took up several problems related to the UT.
In his meeting with the Prime Minister, he spoke about lack of development in J&K, and reminded Modi of his promise to restore the statehood of J&K which he had made on the floor of the House. Azad also urged the PM to hold assembly elections in J&K.
He, however, didn’t make a mention about the revocation of Article 370 or its restoration in his meeting with Modi.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti and also a former Chief Minister, is still in detention but keeps giving out her views on issues through her Twitter account operated by her daughter Iltija. However, she has not spoken a word on the move to scrap J&K’s special status either.
Political observers say that the NC and the PDP have shown their readiness to recalibrate their politics according to the post-Article 370 abrogation reality.
“The two major regional political parties, whose politics revolved around autonomy and self-rule, have realized that they need to move on beyond Article 370 as special status can’t be returned. However, for time being they may tell their voters that the August 5 decision has been challenged in the apex court,” they said.
A PDP leader, however, said that keeping the special status of J&K off the table will be political suicide, and also “a sign of surrender.”
A day before the Modi government scrapped Article 370, all major political parties had met at Farooq Abdullah’s Gupkar residence, and vowed to protect the special status of the erstwhile state in the ‘Gupkar Declaration’ they had all signed. But the declaration has been given a miss by all the politicians so far.
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