Written by: Press Trust of India
2 min readSrinagarDec 6, 2013 05:39 AM IST
First published on: Dec 6, 2013 at 05:39 AM IST
Reacting to Modi’s call for a debate on Article 370 and whether it has benefited the people of the state,Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday challenged BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi,saying he was ready for a debate on Article 370 “anytime,anywhere”.
“If they want a debate on Article 370 with me,let them tell me where and when they want to talk about it. Even if they want to hold the debate in Ahmedabad,we are ready for the debate anytime,” Omar said at public rally here.
“I am surprised that those who know nothing about J&K are commenting on J&K. Those who have not read Article 370 are talking about it. Article 370 does not talk about property rights nor the residency laws. Article 370 is a provision that connects this state to the rest of the country,” he said,referring to the points raised by Modi during his rally at Jammu on December 1.
“I am more surprised by how little knowledge those who are occupying high positions,and dream of occupying higher position,have about the people of Jammu and Kashmir. One such leader made a speech in Jammu recently and claimed that injustice is being done to Gujjars in the state,” Omar said.
He further said Modi lacked basic knowledge of the Shia community and criticised him for not raising the issue of Kashmiri Pandits during his Jammu visit.
“Ours is perhaps the only state which has given Scheduled Tribe status to the community. Modi sahib,if you had to raise this issue,you should have done it in Rajasthan where Gujjars are sacrificing their lives for this status,” he added.
Omar said his National Conference has been maintaining that Kashmir was incomplete without the Pandits and it was imperative that they should return to the Valley. “It was the slogan of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah ‘Sher-e-Kashmir ka kaya irshad,Hindu,Muslim,Sikh Itehaad’. We don’t divide people,we don’t pit people against each other,” he said.
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