Kashmir

Kashmir

Constitution(application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019 https://t.co/ueZWl8VU59 — ANI (@ANI) 1564984622000

Kashmir

order

order

order

NEW DELHI: In a move that will have massive repercussions for Kashmir , the Centre has decided to repeal Article 370 and Article 35-A of the Constitution that grants special status to the state. Announcing the move, home minister Amit Shah also decided to bifurcate the state into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, which will have a legislature, and Ladakh, which will be without a legislature.Shah moved the amendment amid uproar by opposition members.He said the UT in Ladakh will have no legislature like Chandigarh while the other UT of Jammu andwill have a legislature like Delhi and Puducherry.Making a historic announcement in the Rajya Sabha that triggered bedlam, Shah said: "I am presenting the resolution to revoke Article 370 in Jammu andexcept the first clause 370 (1).This comes at a time when the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir continues to be on the edge.The Home Minister's announcement evoked strong protests from the opposition with leaders of Congress, TMC, DMK, AAP, NCP and Left raising slogans and storming the well of the House. They later squatted in the well and continued with their protest.However, some regional parties like BSP, BJD, TRS and AIADMK extended full support to the resolution and the bill while NDA constituent JD(U) walked out.Shah, who received a standing ovation from his party colleagues when he entered the House minutes before proceedings in the Rajya Sabha commenced, termed the move as "historical", saying Article 370 has not allowed integration of Jammu andwith the country.The Union Territory of Ladakh was a long pending demand of the people of the region and the decision was aimed at fulfilling the aspiration of the local population, the Minister said.Two members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nazeer Ahmed Laway and Mir Mohammad Fayaz, were shunted out of the Rajya Sabha after they removed copies of the Constitution.PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti described the decision to scrap Article 370 as "the darkest day in Indian democracy".He also said that Article 370 can be abrogated through such an, as there are provisions within the said Article to do so.Reading out provisions of Article 370 (3), the Home Minister said there are provisions within that state that Article 370 shall cease to be operative or can be amended and the President has the right to issue such a notification or constitutional"We are adopting the same path as adopted by the Congress in 1952 and 1962 by amending the provisions of Article 370 the same way through a notification," Shah told the House, after Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) sought to know if the Constitution can be amended without a Constitutional amendment."There are no merits in the opposition stand and they are opposing it only to do politics and are creating ruckus inside the House," he said.Soon after Shah's announcement, one of the PDP members tore his clothes and then along with another PDP member tore copies of the Constitution, prompting Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu tothat they be physically removed.The surprise announcement came after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, where the PM, Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met at the PM's residence.This meeting was preceded by another meeting that started an hour earlier in which Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was also present.These key meetings were held after mobile internet services were suspended in Jammu, in view of the prevailing security situation in the region.In Jammu, the government has imposed Section 144, which prevents the gathering of more than four people in the area.Kashmir has been on the edge in the wake of a massive security build-up. Leaders of all major political parties in the state met here on Sunday and urged India and Pakistan not to take any step which may disturb the peace and escalate tensions between the two countries.