PDP, NC flag unease before Rajnath Singh over Article 35A review

PDP general secretary Nizamuddin Bhat said that his party emphasised that Kashmir’s is a “political problem and not a development issue”.

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Meanwhile, normal life was disrupted in Kashmir due to a strike called by separatist groups against the Home Minister’s visit. (Photo: PTI)

The ruling People’s Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir and state Opposition National Conference said they told visiting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday about need for the special status granted under Article 35. PDP general secretary Nizamuddin Bhat said that his party emphasised that Kashmir’s is a “political problem and not a development issue”. The PDP delegation also spoke to Rajnath about the credibility crisis the government faced as the agenda of alliance remained unimplemented.

Bhat added that with regard to Article 35A — a provision that empowers the J&K legislature to define “permanent residents” of the state — that is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court, the PDP delegation told Rajnath, “Kashmir is a special state and it needs specific treatment. We told the Home Minister that the PDP joined hands with the BJP for the continuation of the Vajpayee mission, otherwise, Mufti sahab was convinced that as political parties, we were poles apart.”

Bhat said the meeting was “candid”. “The minister was keen to hear our suggestions… and the first thing that we told him was that ‘you will have to be honest’.” Former CM Omar Abdullah led the NC delegation at the meeting with Rajnath where Article 35A was discussed, among other issues. The party demanded that the Centre “unequivocally defend the state’s special status”. “We put our point of view in front of the Home Minister and informed him of the importance the people of the state attach to this provision,” Abdullah said.

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The Congress’s G N Monga led an eight-member delegation to meet Rajnath in Srinagar and urged him to talk to all stake holders “including the Hurriyat.” “The Centre’s policy in J&K, over the last two to three years, has failed and there is more anger on the ground now than before,” Monga said. The party raised issues of everyday casualties in the state, including those of security personnel, and communicated its concerns with regard to the recent NIA raids and the arrest of journalist Kamran Yousuf. “We will wait for his on-ground response,” the Congress leader said.

Meanwhile, normal life was disrupted in Kashmir due to a strike called by separatist groups against the Home Minister’s visit.

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