New Delhi/Aug, 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah met for an hour Monday morning before a cabinet meeting at the PM’s residence in Delhi amid uncertainty in Jammu and Kashmir and an unprecedented lockdown that included the midnight house arrest of politicians in the state including former chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah.
The cabinet meeting started after a short meet of the Cabinet Committee on Security, which includes PM Modi, the Home Minister, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The meetings are hugely significant against the backdrop of the turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir, where there has been a massive build-up of troops over the weekend. On Friday, the government, in a highly unusual advisory, asked Amarnath Yatra pilgrims and tourists to leave the state “immediately”, spiking fear in the Valley, where residents rushed to stock up on essentials and fuel.
The restrictions have spurred apprehensions among Jammu and Kashmir politicians that there may be plans to modify special status granted to the state under the constitution through Article 35A and Article 370. The ruling BJP has been unambiguous in opposing both articles in its poll manifestos.
