Srinagar: National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah on Monday warned against any tinkering by government of India with Article 35-A, which gives protection to special status of Jammu and Kashmir and said that it would result in “struggle bigger than the agitation against transfer of land to Shri Amaranth Shrine Board” during PDP’s alliance with Congress in 2008.
“The government of India must borne in mind the flames of 2008 agitation against transfer of land to the shrine board in 2008 and as such should shun plans of tinkering with the Article 35-A,” Farooq Abdullah, the three-time chief minister and parliamentarian from Srinagar said during an informal meeting with Opposition leaders to evolve a joint response to prevent any move to tamper with the state’s special status.
Omar Abdullah, the former Chief Minister and working president of NC also cautioned against any altering with the special status.
“What you saw during the Amarnath land row was nothing in comparison to what will happen (if Article 35A is tampered with)… That was a notional idea but this (tampering with Article 35A) will be a clear cut indication. You (GoI) are in effect altering the demography of J&K state,” he told a New Delhi-based newspaper.
Omar underlined that Article 35A was a provision in the Constitution that empowers the J&K legislature to define permanent residents of the state and was added through the ‘Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954’ issued under Article 370.
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