| Article 370 under SC scrutiny | | What will Prem Nath Dogra Bhawan, 11 Ashoka Road do now? | | ET Report
jammu, Nov 20: Will the BJP, which has given its unqualified support to the coalition Government in J&K to defend anti-refugee, anti-daughters of J&K and anti-Indians Article 35-A that empowers the State Government to grant or not to grant citizenship rights to a group or groups of people not otherwise considered State subjects, also make common cause with the pro-Article 370 Kashmir-based parties and let down the integrationists and check the ongoing process of the State's integration with India to stay put in power?
This question is being raised by those in the State and rest of the country who want Article 370 to be removed from the Indian Constitution so that the people of the State also enjoy fruits of Indian democracy in the State. Under Article 370, the J&K State has the right to have a separate constitution and a separate flag and no Central law can be extended to J&K without the concurrence of the J&K Government. Under this Article, J&K also enjoys residuary powers. J&K is the only State in India which enjoys a separate status in the Indian Union.
What has made the critics of the BJP, Article 35-A and Article 370 ask this question is the Delhi High Court's the latest direction to the J&K Government and the Union Government to produce copies of two writ petitions wherein validity of Article 370 of Indian Constitution has been challenged before the Supreme Court.
Hearing the petition challenging validity of Article 370, a division bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini, directed the respondents (Union of India and J&K Government) to produce copies of the writ petitions. WP(C) No 9300 of 2015 titled Kumasi, Vijaya Lakashmi Jha Vs Union of India and another was listed before the chief justice court of Delhi high court at Serial No 1".
In the last hearing, Additional Solicitor General for Union of India had made a statement that "constitutional validity of Article 370 has been challenged in two writ petitions" which are pending adjudication before the Supreme Court of India. As a result of his submission that "the petition before the Delhi High Court deserves to be dismissed", the Delhi High Court directed the Union of India to produce copies of the writ petitions before it.
The petitioner, Kumari Vijaya Lakshmi Jha, pleads in her petition "whether temporary provision lapsed automatically with the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir on January 26, 1957". "From perusal of Article 370 (some clause), it becomes clear that the said provision of Article 370 was valid till Constituent Assembly, constituted for framing the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir exited/continued," the petition has, inter-alia, said.
The petition has further said that the "continuance of temporary provision of Article 370, even after dissolution of Constituent Assembly of J&K, continuance of J&K Constitution which has never got the assent/approval of President of India/Parliament/ Government of India, regarding the matter like citizenship, which is in exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament, amounts fraud on the basic structure of our Constitution, ... (as it is) against the sovereignty, integrity, unity of the nation, sovereignty of Parliament etc.".
The Delhi High Court has listed the case for next hearing on January 27, 2016.
What will the Pt Prem Nath Dogra Bhawan, Jammu, and 11 Ashoka Road, the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, will do now? Will the BJP take the stand it took on Article 35-A to appease separatists and communalists in Kashmir to retain control over power it got in March this year? Or, will it register its opposition to those who seek to make Article 370 a permanent feature of the Indian Constitution?
It will be interesting to see what stand the BJP finally takes. The BJP would pariah in case it defends Article 370. |
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