Art 370 not part of merger terms, says

Karan Singh

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday warned that "J&K's relations with India would end" in case Articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution — which provide special status and exclusive powers to the state regarding residency — are abrogated.Mehbooba was reacting to BJP president Amit Shah 's assertion in an interview to ET that removal of Articles 370 and 35A was the way forward for a solution to the Kashmir problem."These are still our issues. We needed full majority in Parliament. We did not have this (majority) in the Rajya Sabha. This time also, these issues will be part of our manifesto," Shah had said in the interview, adding, "By 2020, we will have majority (in the Rajya Sabha)."Reacting sharply to the statement, Mehbooba said: "If that turns out to be the case, 2020 will also be a deadline from Jammu & Kashmir to the nation. If you remove those terms and conditions on which J&K acceded to India, our relation with the country will also end."The former chief minister was answering reporters' queries on Shah's statement after filing her nominations from the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.The threat drew a furious response from BJP, with finance minister Arun Jaitley terming it "absurd" and emphasising that J&K will remain a part of India irrespective of what happens to Articles 35A and 370."The Instrument of Accession that J&K signed in 1947 was not different from the ones other princely states signed when they merged themselves into India. Article 370 came into being in 1950 while Article 35(A) was incorporated into the Constitution in 1954 and this makes it clear that these subsequent developments were not prerequisite to J&K's accession to India," he said.Jaitley said that territorial integrity is part of the nation's basic structure and can never be impacted by changes in the Constitution. "Will India ever become part of the UK if Westminster were to revoke the Indian Independence Act?" he said.The exchanges between BJP and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti have increased the likelihood that J&K will loom large over the polls as a wedge issue. BJP has also locked horns with Congress over the promises the latter has made as part of its manifesto to hold unconditional talks with all stakeholders to reduce the presence of the Army and paramilitary forces in the Valley and to undertake a review of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.Mehbooba, who is seeking to reclaim ground she lost in the Valley, had lashed out at Shah over the latter's assertion about BJP's ambition to do away with Articles 370 and 35A."I want to ask, Amit Shah, if you think you will be able to abrogate Article 370, you are daydreaming. Article 370 is a bridge between the people of Kashmir and the rest of India. When you destroy this bridge, even we the mainstream parties who swear by the Constitution will have to rethink which way should we adopt. You will not find anyone to hold the Tricolour. Even we, the mainstream political groups, will not be able to shoulder the national flag in J&K," she said.Both Shah and Modi have attacked Congress on its silence over the stand of its ally, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah , that J&K should have its own PM. In another twist, senior Congressman Karan Singh, the son of late Maharaja Hari Singh, has also said Article 370 was not part of terms on which his father merged his principality into India.