Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir on Tuesday said there was no proposal to scrap Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that grants Jammu and Kashmir special status. “There is currently no such proposal under consideration of the government,” Ahir said in his reply to a question by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ashwini Kumar.
The BJP’s election manifesto in 2014 had included scrapping Article 370. This has been a matter of contention between the BJP and its ally in Jammu and Kashmir, the People’s Democratic Party.
In August, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said Article 370 was the basis of the BJP’s and People’s Democratic Party alliance in the state. “The idea of India has to accommodate idea of Jammu and Kashmir,” Mufti had said. “Discussions on [section] 35A have a negative impact on Jammu and Kashmir. The message that Jammu and Kashmir is the crown of India should be reiterated.”
Article 35A, which is part of The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) order, gives the state legislature the power to define the “permanent residents” of the state and provide them with special rights and privileges. The provision does not allow Indian citizens from outside Jammu and Kashmir to acquire immovable property in the state, take up jobs with the state government, avail of state-sponsored scholarships, or settle permanently anywhere in the Valley.
On August 8, the Supreme Court had admitted a plea challenging the legality of Article 370 of the Constitution and the special status it grants to Jammu and Kashmir. The court had issued a notice to the Central government and sought a response.
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