Omar says that if Article 35A is repealed they will traverse back to the era of oppression
Seemingly unimpressed by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's efforts to 'Save Article 35 A', the main Opposition party National Conference (NC) took the battle for defending state subject law to BJP's bastion of Jammu cautioning people against its abrogation saying it will have a disastrous effects on all the regions of the restive state.
"If assurance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is true, why has a counter affidavit not been presented before the Supreme Court by the Centre to defend Article 35 A. Instead of defending this Article, the Attorney General pitched for a larger debate on it," said Omar Abdullah, NC working president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister.
Omar was addressing a day-long convention of district and block presidents of Jammu division. The convention is a part of a series of workshops and meetings initiated by NC to mobilise public opinion in defence of the state subject law.
Omar noted that if Article 35A is repealed, they will traverse back to the unfortunate era of indignity, deprivation and oppression. Cautioning people about the consequences, Omar said Jammu will be the worst hit. "Not only will jobs squeeze for local youth but our business sector, too, shall suffer tremors with influx of traders from outside the State," he added.
"Maharaja had brought these laws into effect to save the interests of those locals holding land and finding representation in the state administration as there were apprehensions of non-state subjects usurping the locals. Laws enacted 90 years ago have withstood the test of time in preserving the identity of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh besides preserving their legitimate rights", he said.
Former chief minister questioned the seriousness of the PDP-BJP government on this sensitive issue. "State's counter affidavit has been condensed to just eleven pages.The affidavit for some odd reasons is reported to be without any substance or any depth and worryingly the state government putting up a weak case, perhaps intentionally so", he said
Urging people to unite in fighting this conspiracy and foil the attempts to trample the constitutional guarantees, Omar said all this is being done under an elaborate conspiracy to rob J&K of its Special Status and rights.
"BJP has been hell-bent to trample the special status of Jammu and Kashmir for a long. But once they came to power, BJP realized that their designs cannot be achieved politically and therefore a short cut of proxy judicial activism through various affiliated NGOs has been initiated by clandestinely challenging the Article 35A through a 'Mukhota (mask)", he said.
Meanwhile, artists and film-makers took to streets in Srinagar against any move to tweak or scrap the state subject law. Holding placards in support of Article 35 A, top filmmakers, performing artists and musicians asked the government to preserve the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Under Article 35 A, Indian citizens other than the state subjects of Jammu and Kashmir, cannot acquire immovable property or have the voting rights in the restive state. Charu Wali Khanna, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir settled outside the state has challenged the legality of the Article 35 A in the Supreme Court on the grounds that the law disenfranchises and takes away her succession rights.
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