Farooq warns J-K precedent could be repeated in other states if BJP remains in power

NEW DELHI : National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said the reconstitution of Jammu and Kashmir into Union Territories in 2019 had wider implications and that the BJP would repeat such moves in other states if it stayed in power.

Abdullah made the remarks at the launch of MDMK leader Vaiko’s book “Vaiko in Parliament”, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and several opposition leaders in attendance.

Abdullah said the developments in Jammu and Kashmir had wider implications for India’s federal structure.

“Look at Jammu and Kashmir… A state converted to a Union territory, completely against the fundamental laws… and they are going to do this with other states also, be sure, if they remain in power,” he said.

The National Conference leader also renewed his demand for restoration of statehood, saying the Union territory arrangement had left the elected government with “hardly any powers” while authority rested with the Centre.

Questioning the functioning of constitutional institutions, Abdullah said the Election Commission should have been autonomous and the judiciary should be “far more democratic and not dependent on the wishes of the Government of the day”.

He also challenged the government’s development narrative, asking, “They may say we will be the third biggest economic power… but we still feed nearly 80 crore people with free ration. How will we become great?”

Pointing to the July 20 police action against students protesting in Delhi, Abdullah said the “brutal treatment” meted out underscored the need to resist what he described as “dictatorial policies”.

Echoing Abdullah’s thoughts, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby said the August 5, 2019, decision to abrogate Article 270 amounted to “the most unconstitutional assault” on Jammu and Kashmir.

Baby described the erstwhile state as “a test case” for what he claimed was a broader assault on India’s federal structure.

Baby alleged that the Centre bypassed constitutional procedure by first dissolving the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, vesting its powers in the governor and then using Parliament to revoke the state’s special status and divide it into two Union territories. (PTI)