Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said if Article 370, which guarantees special status to J&K, is done away with, the state’s relation with India will be over.
The warning by the former Chief Minister came two days after Union Minister Arun Jaitley advocated for the repeal of Articles 370 and 35A.
“Article 370 is a bridge and the Constitution of India applies to us through it. And when you break that bridge, how come this Mehbooba Mufti, who swears by the constitution of J&K and India, will take oath? Then you will have to redefine the relations between India and Kashmir,” she said while addressing party workers in Srinagar. She said in a scenario when there is no Article 370, Kashmirs would also like to ponder if they would really want to remain a part of the Indian Union which is without constitutional guarantees.
“And then there would be new conditions for forging this relation. Are you ready for that?” she asked. “There would be questions that whether we (Kashmiris) would like to join back or not, because we will have to probably rethink that relation (with India),” she added. “Arun Jaitley sahab will have to understand that it is not that easy to scrap Article 370. If you do away with it, your relations with the J&K will end,” she said. National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah had also warmed against tinkering with the special status on Friday.
Arun Jaitley sahab will have to understand that it is not that easy to scrap Article 370. If you do away with it, your relations with the J&K will end. — Mehbooba Mufti, PDP President
