SRINAGAR, (PTK): Reiterating that Article 35-A is the constitutional gaurantee to protect cultural, ethenic and political identity of the state, Chairman PDF and MLA Khansahib Hakeem Yaseen today urged the Governor N N Vohra to moblize all legal and constitutional resourses to protect it in the Supreme Court where it has been challenged by a RSS backed lobby.
In a statement issued to PTK, Hakeem Yaseen said that Governor administration should not take any chance in defending Article 35-A in the Supreme Court where hearing on a writ petition against it was scheduled on 6th August, adding that any hasty decision against the law shall have disastrous consequences for the whole country.
He said besides seeking adjournment of hearing on Article 35-A in SC on the plea of proposed local body polls in the state, the Governor administration should gear up its full resouces to defend the Article with full force and legal back up support.
He said Article 35-A is a Constitutional gaurantee to safeguard the hereditary state subject rights of the people of the state adding that such rights were there even before the India of today came into existence in 1947.
He said it was in 1927 when the Dogra ruler passed state subject law, bestowing such rights on natives, albeit at the instance of Kashmiri Pandits & Jammu Dogras, who always feared influx of people from neighboring plains to overwhelm them. He said these laws were then renewed in 1953 by the then Prime Minister Pt. Jawahir Lal Nehru through a presidential order.
Hakeem Yaseen has also appreciated the group of prominent lawyers of Jammu who under the chairmanship of former president Bar Association jammu, Advocate A G Gupta have opposed tooth and nail abrogation of Article 35-A.
He said need of the hour was to educate masses about the benefits of this law for the people of the state adding that Article 35-A was in the overall interests of the people of all the three regions of the state and not for a particular community as it safeguards cultural, ethenic and political identity of the state in totality.
He warned that there can not be any compromise on this constitutional gaurantee to the special rights of the people of the state. (PTK)
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