Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 1: Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said that they won’t allow any tinkering with the special status “which is the only bridge” between Jammu and Kashmir and Union of India.
Addressing a rally at Bandipora in North Kashmir, the former Chief Minister said that removal of Article 35A will have bearing on the instrument of accession. “As far as its removal is concerned, we won’t let that happen. This State and its people were promised in 1947 and that promise wasn’t restricted to time. Nobody said it was for 10 years or 70 years, we were told that till Jammu and Kashmir is part of India, this State would have this special provision, the day you remove this special status, then what relation we have with the country. Our relationship is based on this, I told in the press conference that if you are talking about removal of Article 35A and Article 370, but at the same time you need to discuss instrument of accession then,” he said.
Omar said that if his party comes to power, Jammu and Kashmir will once again have a Sadr-e-Riyasat and Prime Minister. He lashed out at BJP president Amit Shah over his statement that BJP will abrogate Article 35A by 2020. He said that Jammu and Kashmir is not like other States of India and had acceded to the Union on certain terms and conditions including its special status.
“As far as they are saying that they are trying to remove Article 35A since 70 years when they haven’t heard the name of it from 70 years, what were they talking to remove about”, Omar said.
He said New Delhi had gradually eroded the State’s special status “but we will take back what you have snatched from us.”
“We are not among those who keep people in delusion. Mehbooba Mufti said during a rally in Baramulla that if she comes in a power, she will revoke ban on JeI and JKLF, but the ban was not imposed by State Government but by the Centre. We need to prepare Centre to revoke the ban that is why we are contesting election against BJP,” he said.
Omar asked the people to be careful about BJP and PDP. “We have been saying that BJP and its friends here, those which BJP attempted to give the Chief Ministerial position a few months back, we need to be careful about them”, he said.
The former Chief Minister hoped that the change in the Government in the Centre will lead to revocation of ban on JeI and JKLF. “Hopefully, we will change the government in the Centre only then ban will be revoked to JeI and JKLF,” he said.
Referring to the issues faced by youth of the State, Omar said: “I am alive to the problems the youth of our State is facing due to the serving SRO-202 job policy of the State Government. Regrettably the youth of our State are made to work full in lieu of paltry remuneration. During my tenure, I had done away with the SRO-202. I repented for my mistake, but I don’t know what caused the former PDP-BJP Government to get it back. I assure you once in power we will do away with SRO-202. I have also undertaken to obliterate PSA from the State. During our Government the law was mellowed down, nonetheless I assure you once in power PSA will obliterate from the papers.”
“I don’t backtrack from this undertaking of mine on the abolition of PSA, if NC is voted to power with a strong mandate, the law will go. We are not PDP which promised to dissolve Task Force but ended up just changing the nomenclature of it, this is not what I am going to do. Once in power, PSA shall become thing of past”, he said.
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