Scrapping of Article 370 Has Not Brought Positive Change to J&K: Hakeem

Srinagar: Chairman Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Front ( J&K PDF), Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, stated that the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, has failed to bring any positive socio-economic changes to Jammu and Kashmir. He criticized the move as another betrayal by the BJP government, deepening the sense of alienation among the people.
Hakeem said BJP fulfilled its long-standing political agenda by removing Article 370, it failed to eliminate the sense of alienation among the people.
“The promises made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been repeatedly broken by successive central governments and even some regional parties. Article 370 was a bridge of mutual trust and faith between the center and the people of Jammu and Kashmir, established by the country’s and state’s leaders after careful deliberation,” he said.
The senior leader said that this bridge, he lamented, was destroyed with a stroke of the pen on August 5, 2019. By unilaterally scrapping Article 370, the current central government has deepened the sense of alienation among the people, he noted.
“The abrogation was justified with claims that it would fully integrate Jammu and Kashmir, boost economic development, and combat terrorism. However, the reality on the ground has been contrary to these claims,” he added.
Hakeem also criticized the amendments to the union territory’s business rules, which he believes conferred unlimited powers to the Lieutenant Governor, thereby undermining the authority of the elected Chief Minister and the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
Hakeem questioned the central government’s intentions in scrapping constitutional guarantees and usurping the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He called for early elections in the region, as mandated by the Supreme Court, to allow the people to elect their own representatives, secure their constitutional rights, and end the current proxy government.