Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday lashed out at the media for its stand on Article 35 A of the Indian Constitution.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday lashed out at the media for its stand on Article 35 A of the Indian Constitution.
“Kashmir has shut down to protect a provision of the Indian constitution. When was the last time anyone was able to frame that headline? #Article35,” Abdullah tweeted.
Shops and business establishments were shut and transport remained off roads on day one of a two-day strike called by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) that has accused BJP and RSS of trying to change the state's demography.
Roads wore a deserted look in Srinagar and other district towns in the Valley. The ongoing Amarnath Yatra from Jammu to the cave shrine was suspended for two days. Train services were also suspended in Kashmir for two days.
Even auto-rickshaws were off roads, and the Dal Lake's shikaras did not operate — unusual sights even by Kashmir's standards. Additional security forces have been deployed, amid apprehensions of violence.
Kashmir Inc staged a sit-in at Srinagar's Lal Chowk, cautioning against any move to "tinker with Article 35-A". "Any fiddling with the Article will only push Kashmir's people to a do-or-die situation, and the onus lies with New Delhi," Kashmir Inc said.
"We want to tell the world and the government of India that do not resort to such things, which you shall have to regret later," said Mohommad Yaseen Khan, president, Kashmir Traders' and Manufacturers' Federation.
The J&K government has asked the court to defer the hearing on petitions, which challenge the provision, because of preparations for the state's panchayat elections likely in October. Lawyers, transporters, traders, businesses, civil society and parties have backed the shutdown.
Protests have been held across Kashmir over the past one week with National Conference and PDP holding rallies in support of Article 35-A that bars non-locals from acquiring immovable property, getting jobs, benefitting from schemes and voting in the state. Congress has also warned of "a massive agitation" if Article 35-A was "fiddled with."
Charu Wali Khanna, a J&K resident married to a non-Kashmiri and settled outside the state, and some NGOs have challenged the Article, saying it violates fundamental rights of India's citizens. They say the provision is a Presidential order of 1954, never presented before Parliament.
They say the Article is unconstitutional because only Parliament, and not the President, can amend India's Constitution.
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