Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday amid reports that she was seeking help against attempts to alter Constitutional provisions that give special status to the state. The meeting comes in the backdrop of the debate on Article 35A of the Constitution that grants special status to the state and is being challenged in the Supreme Court.
After meeting the Prime Minister, Mufti said that he had given “100 percent” assurance that he would back the PDP-BJP government’s Agenda of Alliance, which says that the status of Article 370 can’t be “fiddled with”.
Our Agenda of Alliance was based on a foundation that the status of Article 370 can’t be altered or fiddled with...so none of us (PDP-BJP) can go against that...Mehbooba Mufti
Meanwhile, the Centre will also be explaining the legal aspects of Article 35A to the Supreme Court. Attorney General KK Venugopal is expected to explain before the Supreme Court these aspects of Article 35A, home ministry officials said.
Article 370 grants special status to J&K, while Article 35A, added to the Indian Constitution through a presidential order, empowers the J&K legislature to define the state’s “permanent residents” and their special rights and privileges.
However, according to the BJP spokesperson in the state of J&K, Article 370 is responsible for keeping the settled issue of J&K alive, and encourages the separatists and external forces to interfere in the internal matters of India.
Article 35A has come under focus after two Kashmiri women approached the Supreme Court challenging it. They contended that it had disenfranchised their children.
BJP Blames Article 370 for Creating a “Separatist Psyche”
Blaming Article 370 of the Constitution for the creation of a "separatist psyche", the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP said on Thursday that the time has come for the people of the state to say goodbye to it, and also to Article 35A.
Both these articles, instead of being beneficial to the people of the state, have done great damage and hampered progress and development, said J&K BJP spokesperson Virender Gupta.
The time has come when the people of Jammu and Kashmir should say goodbye to Article 370 and ask the Government of India to revoke Article 35A.Virender Gupta, J&K BJP Spokesperson
The prevailing situation in the Valley shows that Article 370 has created a "separatist psyche" and acts as a breeding ground for "separatist emotion", Gupta said.
Article 370 grants special status to J&K, while Article 35A, added to the Indian Constitution through a presidential order, empowers the J&K legislature to define the state's "permanent residents" and their special rights and privileges.
Article 35A has come under focus after two Kashmiri women approached the Supreme Court challenging it. They contended that it had disenfranchised their children.
The BJP is a part of the ruling alliance in J&K where it has partnered with the PDP. However the saffron party's views on Article 370 and Article 35A appear to be at variance with its ally.
At a recent event in Delhi, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had said that if Article 35A was tinkered with, there will be no one in Kashmir to uphold the national flag.
Opposition National Conference (NC) has also spoken against any attempt to tamper with these provisions.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(Love your mother tongue? This Independence Day, tell The Quint why and how you love your bhasha. You may even win a BOL t-shirt! Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at bol@thequint.com or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)