Says Valley wants Article 35A to be defended in SC
Senior Congress leader and MP Karan Singh has concluded his four-day visit to Kashmir during which he interacted with members of civil society and leaders of various political parties over the situation in the Kashmir valley.
Karan Singh, who arrived here on Monday, also met Governor NN Vohra and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, leaders of other parties and members of civil society. The visit followed that of the two-day tour of the Congress Policy Planning Group led by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this month.
“The common theme was a deep concern regarding Article 35A of the Constitution, which is under consideration of the Supreme Court,” Karan Singh said.
He said while senior government authorities had publicly assured that Kashmir’s sentiments in the matter would be respected, the fact is that the final say would be of the Supreme Court. Even as the Centre had not so far filed any affidavit, there was a demand for a strong defence of the Article before the court, he added.
On the present political situation in the Valley, Karan Singh said the people suggested that it was important to open talks with the Hurriyat leaders, although it seemed that they had not yet publicly expressed their willingness to talk with Centre’s representative. “In my view, talks are to be welcomed, whether at the national, state or regional-level, whether at track one or track two, and some urgent initiatives need to be taken to start the process,” the senior Congress leader said.
He said the people had expressed dismay that for the second year in a row the tourist influx into the Valley had virtually collapsed, resulting in losses to trade and business. “This is a cruel blow to the economy of the Valley,” the Congress leader said, hoping that such a situation would not be repeated in future.
