Opposition National Conference (NC) President and former chief minister, Farooq Abdullah Monday said the existence of Jammu Kashmir would be under threat if Article 35-A was abrogated.
Addressing a news conference after chairing a joint meeting of opposition parties at his Gupkar residence in Srinagar, Abdullah said if Article 35-A was abrogated, it would have dangerous consequences for all three regions of the State – Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu.
“Besides, it will also have its ramifications on entire country,” he said a day after returning from New Delhi.
The meeting chaired by Abdullah was also attended by NC Working President Omar Abdullah, State Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami of CPI (M), Ghulam Hassan Mir of Democratic Party Nationalist (DPN), and Hakeem Muhammad Yaseen of Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) besides NC General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, Muhammad Shafi (Uri) and Chaudhary Muhammad Ramzan of NC, and Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed and Usman Majeed of the Congress.
Abdullah said during the meeting, the opposition parties had all decided that they would vehemently oppose the abrogation of Article 35-A.
Article 35-A is a constitutional provision that defines special privileges enjoyed by permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir in matters related to employment, acquisition of immovable property, settlements and scholarships.
Abdullah criticised Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti-led government for failing to plead the case in the Supreme Court.
He said the government had failed to hire a “high class representation” to plead the case in the apex court.
The NC president said the State enjoyed its special status from the time of Dogra Maharajas who took this decision to prevent outsiders from coming and settling here and from diluting State’s culture.
Article 35-A was extended to J&K through the ‘Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order issued by President Rajendra Prasad on May 14, 1954.
It was devised to grant protection to state subject laws that had already been defined under the Maharaja’s rule and notified in 1927 and 1932.
Abdullah said the agenda of the rightwing parties like Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was to erode the autonomous structure of the State but was quick to add that the opposition parties were putting up a united front against their machinations.
Urging Chief Minister to stand by her promise of quitting her chair if Article 35-A was abrogated, the three-time chief minister suggested her to visit all the three regions of the State and inform people about the dangerous consequences it would have on them.
Mehbooba had earlier warned New Delhi against tinkering with Article 35-A saying that if it was tinkered with, no one, neither NC nor PDP, who hold tricolor in Kashmir despite risks and attacks to their workers, would be left to hold it.
Abdullah urged all democratic forces across India to stop the onslaught of communal forces on Jammu Kashmir and help douse the raging fire.
“Abrogating Article 35-A will be a dangerous move, dangerous for Kashmir, dangerous for Jammu, dangerous for Ladakh and dangerous for the entire country,” he said.
Earlier, while chairing the meeting, sources quoted the NC president as saying that by raking up issues like Article 35-A, New Delhi was playing with fire and threatened it of consequences more dangerous than the agitation following the Amarnath land row of 2008 if this article was abrogated.
They said Abdullah held that if Article 35-A was abrogated, it would have an impact on the demography of the State.
Addressing media persons, Tarigami said the opposition would reach out to all democratic forces across India for protection of Article 35-A and identity of the State.
The Supreme Court is presently hearing a petition filed by a RSS-backed think-tank ‘Jammu Kashmir Study Centre’ that challenges Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution.
The apex court last month referred the matter to a three-judge bench and reportedly set a six-week deadline for its final disposal.
Article 35A abrogation will threaten JK’s existence: Farooq Abdullah
