Srinagar
After his decision to not participate in the Jammu and Kashmir panchayat and urban local body polls, National Conference party chief Farooq Abdullah on Saturday threatened to withdraw from the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections if the Centre did not clear its stance on Articles 35A and 370.
Article 35A refers to a constitutional provision that allows the Jammu & Kashmir assembly to define permanent residents of the state. According to the Jammu & Kashmir Constitution, a Permanent Resident is defined as a person who was a state subject on May 14, 1954, or who has been residing in the state for a period of 10 years, and has “lawfully acquired immovable property in the state”.
Article 370, on the other hand, guarantees special status to the state.
Speaking to news agency ANI at an event in Srinagar, Farooq said, “We will not only boycott the panchayat elections but also the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections if the Centre doesn’t clear its stand on Article 35A and Article 370.”
“Agencies are spreading rumours that Kashmiri Pandits are scared. What Jagmohan (J&K Guv: 1984-89 and Jan-May’90) did earlier, they (agencies) think by spreading such rumours, the Kashmiri Pandits will leave. There’ll be an uproar in the rest of the country and Hindus and Muslims will be killed,” the NC leader alleged.
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