Srinagar: Opposition National Conference on Sunday said that it registered its disappointment on government of India’s ‘ambiguity’ in defending Article 35A, the vires of which have been challenged before Supreme Court by an NGO—we the citizens, allegedly backed by right wing parties.
A spokesman of the National Conference said that party’s working president Omar Abdullah led a party delegation that met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Srinagar.
While highlighting the political, historical and constitutional context of the State’s special status, Omar Abdullah registered the party’s concern and disappointment over the Government of India’s ambiguity in defending the State’s Special Status in the Supreme Court with respect to Article 35-A, the spokesman said. Article 35A of the Indian constitution protects exclusive right to property by citizens of Jammu and Kashmir among other safeguards.
The delegation, the spokesman said, also highlighted the “worsened and constantly deteriorating” situation in the Valley.
The delegation also sought a sustained and open-ended political engagement with stakeholders in Kashmir irrespective of their ideology and urged New Delhi and Islamabad to make sincere and sustained efforts towards resumption of a comprehensive dialogue on all outstanding issues including that of Kashmir.
The delegation also reiterated its struggle for the restoration of autonomy and urged the Government of India to initiate a process of reversing erosions made to the State’s Autonomy that had been violated by extending various hitherto “inapplicable” central Laws to the State, with GST being the most recent example.
The party also decried the singular focus on operational and military mechanisms in dealing with an inherently political issue and asked the government to reach out to the alienated and isolated youth of the Valley.
Beside Omar, the delegation comprised of party General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, Provincial President Kashmir Nasir Aslam Wani, Senior Leaders Chaudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Mian Altaf Ahmed, Mubarak Gul, Muhammad Akbar Lone, Chief Spokesperson Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Sakina Ittoo, Shameema Firdous, Tanvir Sadiq, Phuntsog Wangdan Shunu from Leh and \Aga Abbas from Kargil.
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