JAMMU: Stating that Government of India at the behest of RSS was hell bent to tinker with Article 35A, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Vice President and former MLC G N Monga today said that hard stance and hard posturing has neither yielded any results in the past nor will it in future, a statement issued here said.
“Congress party is of considered opinion that hard stance and hard posturing has never yielded any results in Kashmir. Arrests and force won’t solve the problem but instead aggravate the problem. Government of India must restraint from fiddling with Article 35-A,” he said in a statement issued to press, here.
“It was a political issue settled long ago. For electoral gains the BJP is trying to twist the historical facts. Not only people of Kashmir region, but people of Jammu and Ladakh regions too will resist any move by the Center to revoke Article 35-A tooth and nail as it is equally beneficial for the people of all the regions of the state,” the Congress leader asserted.
Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir’s accession with India was full and final, Monga said, “By raking up such issues BJP and RSS are trying to challenge it now and they will be themselves responsible for making question mark on accession of the State with the Union.”
He reminded the BJP and the RSS that Article 35A is not the only Presidential Order which has been implemented. “If Article 35A is revoked on the pretext of being a Presidential Order, then all Presidential Orders too will go,” Monga said.
Giving the historical background of Article 35-A, he said, “Article 35A of the constitution empowers J&K legislature to define state’s permanent residents and their special rights and privileges. It was added to the constitution through a presidential order of 1954 with the then J&K government’s concurrence. Through 1927 and 1932 notifications, Dogra ruler of the princely state of J&K, Maharaja Hari Singh imposed a law that defined state subjects and their rights. The law also regulated migrants to the state. J&K joined India through instrument of accession signed by its ruler Hari Singh in October 1947.”
He also lashed out at the government for as creating panic in Kashmir itself instead of clearing the confusion.
