When Jayalalithaa supported scrapping of Art 370 in RS

If J Jayalalithaa was alive today, she would have cheered the Narendra Modi government on its decision to abrogate Article 370 that conferred Special Status to the sensitive border state of Jammu and Kashmir. Jayalalithaa and the AIADMK’s stand vis-à-vis national security and Kashmir were in consonance with the BJP since the beginning.

Jayalalithaa had articulated her views on Jammu and Kashmir and the Article 370 during a speech she delivered as an AIADMK member 35 years back on July 26, 1984 days after the Farooq Abdullah government was dismissed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government. Her party supported the Modi government’s decision on Monday to revoke Article 370.

Very new to the Rajya Sabha, then just 36-years-old and new entrant to the Rajya Sabha, Jayalalithaa stood from her chair to talk about how Article 356 that granted powers to the Union Government to dismiss a democratically elected government in states could remain in a democracy.

“As mentioned earlier, we ourselves, the A.I.A.D.M.K. have been victims of this provision in the Constitution. The dismissal of the Farooq Abdullah government in Jammu & Kashmir under the provisions of its separate Constitution is nothing new. It is not the first, nor is it going to be the last such instance in Indian history after Independence as long as such a Constitutional provision is allowed to remain,” Jayalalithaa had said.

After speaking for almost 10 minutes vehemently opposing the dismissal of the Abdullah Government, Jayalalithaa posed two questions to the then Home Minister P V Narasimha Rao.

“Finally - I now pose two questions to the Hon. Minister for Home Affairs - 1. Will the Centre consider placing Jammu & Kashmir under Governor's rule? 61 2. Why to delay Jammu & Kashmir being integrated with the rest of the Indian Union and why not bring it under the purview of the Constitution of India, - in conformity with all the other States of the Indian Union?” she asked.