Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that Article 370, which gave the former state unique status, has now “become history” and ruled out its reinstatement when revealing the manifesto for the 2018 Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
The restoration of Article 370, which was abrogated in 2019, has been promised in the manifesto released by the National Conference, which is contesting the elections in an alliance with the Congress. The Assembly polls will be the first since 2014 and are also being keenly watched to gauge how the people of Jammu and Kashmir feel about the removal of the provision. Jammu and Kashmir was also bifurcated into two Union Territories, including Ladakh, in 2019 and the government has assured that J&K will be given statehood soon.
In Jammu and Kashmir on a two-day visit, Mr Shah said the former state has been very important to the BJP since Independence and the party has made efforts since then to keep it connected with India.
“Till 2014, the shadow of separatism and terrorism hung over Jammu and Kashmir. Various state and non-state actors tried to destabilise it and governments adopted a policy of appeasement. But, whenever the history of India and Jammu and Kashmir is written, the years between 2014 and 2024 will be written in golden letters for J&K,” the minister said in Hindi.
“There was a time when, under the shadow of Article 370, we saw governments bowing down to the demands of separatists and organization’s like the Hurriyat. In these 10 years, Article 370 and 35-A (which gave the J&K legislature the right to define permanent residents and give them special privileges) have become part of the past. They are not part of the Constitution,” he added.
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Source: NDTV
