news details |
|
|
| Bhim is absolutely correct | | Article 370 not infallible | | Rustam
JAMMU, Dec 7: BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi did exceedingly well on December 1 by asking the votaries of pernicious, anti-people, anti-democratic and fundamentally separatist and communal Article 370 to come forward to have a debate on it to find if it has benefited the people of the state or not. Kashmiri leadership, the Congress and similar other communal parties like the JDU, the CPI, the CPI-M and the SP did not appreciate his suggestion. Their leadership continues to attack Narendra Modi and the BJP. Their argument is that Narendra Modi raked up the issue only to take political mileage and improve the party's poll prospects.
Instead of coming forward to join the debate, they have been saying that Article 370 cannot be abrogated. This is a bogus argument. The Indian Parliament is the supreme law making body in the country and it can amend or repeal any of the Articles in the Indian Constitution. Bhim Singh of the Panthers Party, who is also Supreme Court senior advocate, is right when he takes on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his statement that the only way to abrogate it is by recalling the Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir Assembly where the question of state's accession with India can again be reopened" and accuses him of "crossing the limits and the constitutional boundaries he is obliged to maintain after having taken an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India while assuming the office of a Chief Minister in the state".
Bhim Singh is also right when he questions the silence maintained by the "echelons of power in Delhi on the anti-national outburst of Jammu & Kashmir Chief", saying he has become "highly dangerous to the security of the state and the integrity of India". "The Central leadership kept quiet when he proclaimed on the floor of the House that Jammu & Kashmir never merged with the Union of India…Omar Abdullah should study the history of accession of Jammu & Kashmir and the agreement signed with Parthasarthy, representative of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India in 1975 asserting that after this agreement all chapters on State-Centre Relations were closed with Sheikh Abdullah becoming the Chief Minister," he says, adding, and very rightly, that Article 370 is a temporary provision and can be repealed anytime.
"The reason to bring in Article 370 was to curtail the powers of Maharaja Hari Singh who still was recognized by the Constituent Assembly as the Monarch. Even Dr B. R. Ambedkar had said that Art 370 shall die with termination of Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly. According to Article 370, the power to legislate in respect of Jammu & Kashmir has been vested in the President of India and he was empowered to extend the application of the provisions of the Constitution of India to Jammu & Kashmir by a Presidential Order issued by him (but) in concurrence with the State government of Jammu & Kashmir constituted by the Maharaja. There are two essential ingredients which deserved special attention of the students of law. First that the President would need the concurrence of the government of Jammu & Kashmir constituted by the Maharaja and secondly in case any amendment is to be made in any provision of Article 370, it would require recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir. This would make explicitly clear that the provisions inserted in Article 370 were applicable only during the existence of the Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved with the introduction of Jammu & Kashmir Constitution on 26th January, 1957.
Omar Abdullah has stunned every political thinker and student of law by harping on the issue saying that Article 370 could only be abrogated by the Constituent Assembly of J&K. This exposes Omar's knowledge about a provision in the Constitution of India and the power of the so-called Constituent Assembly of Jammu & Kashmir," the JKNPP chief patron also says in support of his contention, which appears very logical and convincing.
Bhim Singh not only says that the President of India can repeal Article 370 using powers vested in him by Article 370, but also asks Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to "seek legal opinion on his statement whether any provision in the Constitution of India can be amended by a State Legislature". "Can the tail wag the dog?", Bhim Singh questions. But it is extremely unlikely that Omar Abdullah or for that matter other Kashmiri leaders and the "secular" Congress, would agree with Bhim Singh. They will not. Instead, they would go on speaking trash to mislead the people. Article 370 is not infallible. Nor is it a boon. It is a deadly poison. It has harmed the state and its people and hampered the process of integration and democratization and helped only a handful of Kashmiri leaders and their few agents in Jammu to amass wealth on unprecedented scale. Narendra Modi was right when he said Article 370 has benefited only 50 families. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
