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| PDP on same page with NC over 35A, mum on State Subject issue | | Height of Mehbooba's hypocritical politics | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 22: PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has justified her party's aborted attempt to ally with its arch rival National Conference, saying the threat to Article 35A made her to think of the unthinkable.
"This alliance is born out of necessity to safeguard the interests of the state, particularly in reference to Article 35A of the Constitution that confers special rights and privileges to the permanent residents of the state," a national daily quoted Mehbooba as saying.
"Nobody was taking the issue seriously. The date of the hearing (January next year) is drawing closer and the Governor's administration was doing nothing to defend it. In our times, we had hired prominent constitutional experts to defend the Article in the Supreme Court, but now it appeared that things were being taken casually," she added.
Mehbooba confirmed that she had met NC leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and had a threadbare discussion on all these issues. "We are on the same page that democracy and constitutionally guaranteed special status has to be preserved." I just met Omar, not Farooq Abdullah," she added.
Mehbooba's remarks have come as a surprise, because just six months ago she was heading a coalition government with the support of the BJP and while at the helm of affairs neither she nor any of her party leaders spoke on the issue of 35A. In fact her party leaders were justifying forming government with the BJP and argued that they joined hands with the saffron party "only to safeguard special status of Jammu and Kashmir under the Indian constitution."
Notably, while Mehbooba is now speaking on Article 35A and warning New Delhi of the serious repercussions if it's abrogated, her silence on the equally serious issue of fake State Subjects is intriguing and meaningful. Article 35A is directly linked to the State Subject issue and the two cannot be discussed separately.
It's no secret that hundreds of non-state subject businessmen from the neighbouring states of J&K like Punjab and Himachal have been able to fraudulently obtain State Subject certificates and have permanently settled in Jammu. They have opened their business outlets in many parts of Jammu region, particularly in the Jammu city, at the cost of local business houses.
"These non-state subject businessmen are known to fund some political parties of J&K to keep them silent on the issue of state subject. The beneficiaries of these non-local business houses purportedly include the PDP," sources told Early Times.
By raking up Article 35A and preferring silence on the burning issue of fake state subjects, Mehbooba "wants to have a cake and eat it too. Mehbooba does not appear to annoy the strong non-local business lobby settled in Jammu after fraudulently obtaining State Subjects. That's why there's uproar on 35A but not a single word on the fake state subjects," a political analyst said.
On August 4, National Conference Provincial President Devender Singh Rana had demanded a drive against fake state subject holders, even as he cautioned against repealing Article 35A, saying any such attempt will hurt Jammu most than Kashmir and Ladakh.
"State Subject Laws, the essence of Article 35A, were enacted by Maharaja Hari Singh Ji in 1927, essentially to preserve special identity and economy of Jammu region from the onslaught of the non-state subject traders thronging from the neighboring states", Rana said.
He said that the revolutionary Permanent Resident Laws of the Maharaja Bahadur and Land Reforms Act of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah guaranteed the state's special identity besides political and economic empowerment of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
While Rana has made his party's position abundantly clear on the burning issue which concerns every citizen of J&K, people of the state are looking towards PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Indeed, the issue of Article 35 A and fake state subject holders is as important for Jammuites as for Kashmiris. "Hence, it's high time for Mehbooba and her party to jump the gun and launch a campaign over the issue," according to the political observer.
They said that it's important for Mehbooba to announce her party's programme on the subject to keep the anti-national elements and separatists, who are trying to exploit the issue, at bay.
"Being a former CM and leader of a major mainstream party of the state, it's incumbent on Mehbooba to chip in at his crucial juncture. People of the state are looking towards her," a senior political commentator told Early Times.
He added: If a Jammu-based politician threatens of an agitation if the fake state subject holders are not identified and taken to task, it's equally responsibility of a Kashmiri politician like Mehbooba Mufti to take a stand on this grave subject." |
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