Early Times Report
Jammu, April 11: All is not well with the ruling PDP-BJP coalition. The PDP, which is leading the coalition and which, like NC and all other Kashmir-based "mainstream" and separatist outfits, is a votary of special status for J&K. It terms Article 370 a bridge between India and J&K and, like the NC and other Kashmir-based parties, says that J&K would automatically go out of India, if Article 370 and Article 35-A were repealed. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had even went to the extent of asserting that "there will be no body in Kashmir to give shoulder to national flag, if Article 370 and Article 35-A were tinkered with".
However, on Tuesday, J&K BJP spokesperson Virendra Gupta took on the protagonists of Article 370, greater autonomy and self-rule and said that Article 370 would lead to the disintegration of the state.
"The greater autonomy, as ensured under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, has sown seeds of disintegration of the state. The emphasis on the demand seeking greater autonomy shall lead to the disintegration and there is nothing communal in it," said Virendra Gupta.
His statement came a day after NC president Farooq Abdullah pitched for greater autonomy. Addressing party workers at Balakot in Poonch district on Sunday, Farooq Abdullah had reiterated the demand for greater autonomy to the state. "Independence to Kashmir is not feasible as it is a landlocked region. Give us our autonomy," he had said.
Virendra Gupta had not only rejected the demand for greater autonomy but rejected outright the suggestion seeking conversion of LoC into Line of Peace". "Conversion of LoC into Line of Peace amounts to undermining the integrity of the state and the Indian nation," he said, adding that It was against the will of the people of India, which was expressed in the unanimous resolution of Parliament in 1994 of taking back Pakistan-occupied-J&K.
It is not just the NC, which has been urging New Delhi to convert the LoC into Line of Peace. The PDP's view is also the same. In fact, the PDP urges the Prime Minister on a daily basis to reopen all the roads leading to Central Asia, suggesting that such an action on the part of New Delhi would lead to the resolution of Kashmir issue.
Virendra Gupta's statement runs counter to what is enshrined in the PDP-BJP agenda of alliance. The agenda has laid down that the existing status of the state would not be questioned and that the state government would facilitate a dialogue between India and Pakistan and other so-called stakeholders for the resolution of Kashmir issue. |
