Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 13: Former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader Prof Saifuddin Soz has said that not restoration of Statehood but restoration of autonomy is the relevant issue in the Jammu and Kashmir.
“The J&K State was granted internal autonomy within the Constitution of India through the debate and discussion. The Centre’s agreement had been obtained through a democratic process. The debates on this crucial issue in the J&K Constituent Assembly and in the Lok Sabha bear a testimony to the fact of history,” Soz said in a press statement.
“At least, two debates; one in the J&K Constituent Assembly on November 5, 1952 and the other in the Lok Sabha on August 24, 1952 bear witness to the fact that the question of internal autonomy to the J&K State was settled democratically on the said dates. If the ruling class at the Centre does not accept past agreements, it is their mistake which might yield political acrimony, over a period of time,” Soz cautioned.
“Meanwhile, the J&K mainstream political class must bear some responsibility in this behalf. If they continue to remain silent, it will amount to their disastrous failure, in political terms,” Soz added.
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