Farooq Abdullah threatens to boycott state elections unless center clarifies position on Article 35A

SRINAGAR, SEP 08 (PTK): Days after the National Conference said that it will boycott the upcoming local body elections in Jammu and Kashmir unless the centre clarifies its position on Article 35A, a constitutional provision that defines “permanent residents” of the state, party chief Farooq Abdullah has threatened to boycott even the general elections and state elections.

 

“We will not only boycott Panchayat elections but also Lok Sabha and assembly elections if the centre doesn’t clear its stand on Article 35A and Article 370,” Abdullah said on Saturday.

 

Article 35A, a constitutional provision that bars outsiders from owning property in Jammu and Kashmir, has been challenged before the Supreme Court. Last week, Supreme Court deferred the hearing of Article 35A to January after the state authorities cited possible law and order problems in holding municipal and Panchayat elections.

 

Pertinently, National Conference already announced to boycott the upcoming local bodies elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq strongly advocated “friendship” between Indian and Pakistan.

 

He said, “When an RSS leader like Vajpayee can go to Pakistan as the PM and say he’s the leader of people in India and India accepts Pak as a nation and wants to strike friendship with them…If we’re friends with our neighbour, both of us will prosper. I hope PM thinks about it & works for it.”

 

Farooq Abdullah added, “No Muslim has ever told a Hindu or Christian to change the way they practice religion, but when they tell us not to offer Namaz in a particular way or stop Azaan, they want to change Gandhi’s India. If they want to save the nation, they need respect all religions equally.”

 

Article 370 is an extension of Article 35A that allows the state its own constitution, flag and the right to handle its own laws except on matters that impact national security. The BJP has maintained that repealing Article 370 is part of its core philosophy.

 

The state administration has announced plans to conduct municipal elections from October 1 and Panchayat elections from November.

 

Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party(PDP), the other major party that ruled the state till recently with the BJP, has also expressed its reservations about the local body polls.

 

Earlier this week, Abdullah said that the decision to hold elections was taken in a hurried manner without taking into consideration the prevailing situation created by the powers that be by “unnecessarily fiddling” with Article 35A.

 

Lashing out at the centre, Abdullah said the role of the central government and the present dispensation in Jammu and Kashmir before the Supreme Court goes clearly against the wishes and aspirations of the people of the state. (PTK)