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| Article 35-A was a biggest fraud, says Amit Shah | | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 17: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday described Article 35-A as the "biggest fraud" committed on the people of the nation and the Constitution, emphasizing that it was incorporated without taking Parliament into confidence.
Shah made these remarks while speaking in the Rajya Sabha on the 75th year of the adoption of the Constitution, reiterating the government's stance on the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35-A in Jammu and Kashmir.
Amit Shah strongly criticized the manner in which Article 35-A was introduced into the Indian Constitution, asserting that it undermined the democratic process. “Article 35-A was the biggest fraud with the Constitution and the people of the nation. It was incorporated without any discussion or approval in Parliament. Such a significant constitutional order was pushed without taking the representatives of the people into confidence,” Shah said.
The Home Minister highlighted that Article 35-A was added through a Presidential Order in 1954, bypassing the parliamentary procedure. “It was a backdoor entry into the Constitution. A democratic country like India cannot afford such a grave injustice where a provision affecting millions of citizens is added without parliamentary approval,” he stated.
Shah further argued that Article 35-A created inequalities and deprived certain sections of their rights.
The Home Minister reiterated that the abrogation of Article 35-A and Article 370 was a historic step that has ensured equal rights and opportunities for all citizens in Jammu and Kashmir. “The removal of these unconstitutional provisions has paved the way for justice, equality, and development in the region. The people of Jammu and Kashmir now have the same rights as any other Indian citizen,” he said.
Important to mention here that Article 35-A was incorporated in the Constitution of India in 1954 by an order of the then President of India Dr. Rajinder Prashad on the advice of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Cabinet.
The controversial Constitutional (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 followed the 1952 Delhi Agreement entered into between Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India and the then Prime Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, which extended citizenship to the "State Subjects" of Jammu & Kashmir.
So Article 35-A was added to the Constitution of India as a testimony of the special consideration to the Indian Government accorded to the "permanent residents" of Jammu & Kashmir.
The Parliamentary route of law-making was bypassed when the President of India incorporated Article 35-A into the Constitution of India.
Article 35-A was a rarest example of an invisible State meddling with the Constitution of India where it has no constitutional mandate. Article 35A was neither a part of the draft Constitution nor a part of the adopted and enacted Constitution of India. This Article was added to the fundamental rights of the Constitution by a Presidential Order, viz., Constitutional (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 1954 which extended the application of various provisions of the Constitution of India to Jammu & Kashmir with such modifications, exceptions and alterations with the concurrence of the Government of the State. |
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