Srinagar: National Conference (NC) working president Omar Abdullah took a dig at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for sharing power with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and at the same time seeking help from the Opposition on Article 35-A.
Ms Mehbooba had in a surprise move went to NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah’s Gupkar residence and discuss with him latest political situation, particularly attempts being made to abrogate Article 35-A of the constitution.
She had also met a number of other opposition leaders, including Communist Party of India (M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Targami, PDF MLA Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen and NDF Ghulam Hassan Mir on the issue.
However, former chief minister Omar Abdullah taking to micro-blogging site Twitter said “That is the crux of her dilemma – run with the hare & hunt with the hounds. She wants to govern with the BJP & oppose their politics with us”.
He was reacting to a tweet which said “On #35A, bizarre of @MehboobaMufti to seek a consensus against BJP WHILE in an alliance with the BJP. She wants to have AND eat the cake”.
However, his tweet evoked mixed response, some asking all political parties to fight against these attempts, cutting across party lines, while others alleged that NC has already eaten full cake and it is only a leftover left for Mehbooba.
Ms Mehbooba had last month during an event in New Delhi warned that if special rights and privileges to the people of the state are tinkered with, then there would be no one in Jammu and Kashmir to hold the tricolor.
“The special status enjoyed by the state needed to be protected and preserved. The legislature of the state enjoys huge powers unlike any other state assembly. We need to preserve and protect this status,” the Chief Minister said while addressing a public rally in central Kashmir district of Budgam yesterday.
However, Ms Mehbooba’s comment in New Delhi drew serious criticism from her alliance partner in the state government. The BJP had asserted that Article 35-A of the Constitution, which grants special status to the state, is ‘not a sacred cow that cannot be touched’.
“We are greatly shocked and surprised by the statement of the chief minister that by challenging Article 35A, the nationalist forces in Kashmir will get weakened and that India will not get a shoulder to carry its national flag in the state,” BJP state spokesperson Virender Gupta had said in the winter capital.
Meanwhile, the separatists strike call against alleged attempts being made to abrogate Article 35-A on Saturday has been supported by traders bodies, including Kashmir Traders Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) and Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA), besides Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief Er Abdul Rashid.
“We are ready to face bullets in order to protect the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. It will be all out war if the central government tinkers with Article 35-A. It is a matter of life and death for us,” KTMF president Muhammad Yaseen Khan said Wednesday this week.
