Srinagar: While the PDP-led government has Friday sent four ministers to New Delhi for garnering Centre’s support for Article 35 A, the opposition parties said the Government of India should file its affidavit in the Supreme Court if it is serious in protecting the Article.
“The Government of India has not filed its affidavit for contesting the petition for striking down Article 35 A in Supreme Court. It speaks about its seriousness and double ploy even though the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said that she has been assured by the Prime Minister,” National Conference General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar was quoted as saying by local news gathering agency KNS.
Sagar said that the opposition has showed its support to PDP for protecting Article 35A but PDP’s alliance partner, BJP, has a divergent stand on the issue.
“In this scenario, the assurances by Modi as claimed by the CM seem hollow and bereft of truth. The silence by BJP and not filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court exposes the dual stand of PDP and BJP. And irony is that the PDP is still sharing power with BJP when the latter is opposing them on a very crucial issue of the state,” he said.
Pradesh Congress Committee President, G A Mir said that the party will resist any move aimed at erosion of the special status and scrapping of the important article.
“BJP and RSS are conspiring to erode special status of the state and change its demography. But Congress party will not allow them succeed in their nefarious designs, Mir said.
DPN Chief Ghulam Hassan Mir said that the approach adopted by the Centre and the state government to contest the petition on Article 35A is a “drama and stage-show”.
“The visit of the four PDP ministers will not change anything as the BJP government’s silence so far is a clear indication of its intentions about the special status and Article 35A. While PDP is claiming to protect the article 35A, BJP is for scrapping it and both the parties share power in the state which makes it quite clear about its policy of double standard,” he said.
Chairman PDF Hakeem Yaseen said that the assurance of PM as claimed by Mehbooba Mufti has no legal sanctity. “Had the BJP government been serious, then it would have filed an affidavit for protecting Article 35A. This stand of BJP creates doubt about its seriousness and the assurance that CM has claimed,” Yaseen said.
The opposition leaders said that people in all the regions of the state are united in protecting Article 35A. “Except BJP, all the people and political parties are on same page,” they said.
