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| 'Article 35-A is the key villain': Experts | | Time for BJP to act | |
Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 30: The Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition government is out. It was a good riddance, as it had only promoted separatism and communalism and hurt Jammu and Ladakh the most. The fall of the Mehbooba Mufti government and the decision of the BJP to withdraw its support to her government have triggered a fierce debate.
Objective observers and keen J&K-watchers have opined that Mehbooba Mufti would not change herself and that she would pursue the pro-separatist and pro-Pakistan agenda like before. They have also expressed the view that the Governor's rule is an opportunity for the BJP to undo the past wrongs committed by the Congress to drive J&K out of the national mainstream through Articles 370 and 35-A.
"The problem for the BJP is essentially a simple one: if you make compromises to gain power without understanding who you are or what you stood for, you have to be able to show what you gained from the compromise," said a J&K and BJP-watcher. He added: "To be a junior partner in the PDP-led coalition, the BJP gave up all its demands: abolition of Article 370, full integration of the state with the rest of India, and abandonment of Article 35-A, which empowers the state legislature to decide who a permanent resident is, who can be given special privileges".
Others have almost expressed identical view. More than Article 370, which merely gives more autonomy to J&K, it is Article 35-A that is the key villain.
"Article 35-A was slyly included in the Indian Constitution without Parliament passing it, providing the state the basis for separatist thinking. Article 370 can be fixed once all Indian states are given more powers to manage their affairs, but Article 35-A - which is being heard in the Supreme Court - must go. As long as it stays, it provides the intellectual basis for all Indian states to discriminate against migrants and people from outside the state. The basis for Indian nationhood is equal rights for all citizens in any part of India. This is a point even so-called 'constitutional liberals' never emphasize. Once this clause goes, Indians can move and settle in J&K and vice-versa, allowing greater emotional integration," said another expert in J&K affairs.
"The BJP must target Article 35-A even more than Article 370" was the upshot of his whole argument.
It will be interesting to see if the BJP targets Article 35-A in the Supreme Court , saying it is illegal, unconstitutional and undesirable. |
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