Don’t ‘legitimise’ Article 370 abrogation: Mehbooba to CM Omar
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti says framing of UT assembly rules will weaken their case for restoration of special status
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday urged Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah to refrain from ‘endorsing’ the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A by formulation of business rules for assembly of the Union territory (UT).
She said the move would legitimise the ‘illegal and unconstitutional’ actions taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-government at the Centre on August 5, 2019.
“My request to Omar Abdullah is that people have put their trust in him, and he has the responsibility that the illegal and unconstitutional decisions of 2019 don’t get acknowledged by forming business rules of the assembly. The committee (framing such rules) didn’t have members from the PDP, Peoples Conference or Engineer Rashid’s party. Instead, BJP members were there. You should not put your stamp on the decisions our case for Article 370 and 35A [restoration] may weaken,” she told mediapersons.
The former J&K chief minister claimed that despite the Supreme Court ruling, many legal experts believe Article 370 can’t be abrogated by any authority, including the Parliament. “While the BJP may not restore these rights, it is likely that India as a nation will have to do so, sooner or later. Any endorsement by the J&K government will weaken the claim and diminish the state’s position,” she added.
‘BJP govt should approach people like they did in 2016’
Mehbooba reminded the Union government of the ‘understanding’ it showed during the peak of unrest in 2016 and 17. “Thousands of cases of stone pelters were quashed and Ramazan ceasefire was declared. A high-powered delegation was sent to engage with the people of J&K, including separatists, who unfortunately declined the offer. At the time, separatists believed that stone pelting, burning schools and hospitals, and attacking army camps and police stations would resolve the Kashmir issue. However, things only worsened,” she said.
She urged the BJP to come down from its ‘high horse’ and acknowledge that the situation in J&K is ‘not as normal as it appears’. “The facade of normalcy has been created by the force of agencies and the imposition of draconian laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). But this will not last forever. The government must reconsider its approach, reach out to the people and build on the measures initiated during my tenure,” Mehbooba added.
“Instead of dragging the people of J&K along, the government should hand-hold and walk with them,” she said.
Coming down heavily on the National Conference (NC) government, Mufti said the people were hopeful that the atmosphere of arrests, raids and terminations would change.
“However, it has not happened. Yesterday, three employees were terminated. Among them is constable Firdous, who was injured by militants and got 85 stitches. He was terminated in the name of militancy,” she said.
“The same crackdowns, property attachments and persecution of the Jamaat-e-Islami continue. Employees are still being terminated, youngsters are getting under UAPA and the misuse of PSA remains unchecked. Kashmiri youth continue to languish in jails outside J&K. So, what really has changed? The rulers may have changed, but the same cycle of suppression continues,” she went on to add.