Kashmir on Edge as Supreme Court to Hear Plea on Article 35-A Today, Shutdown Imposed
A sit-in was organised today at Srinagar's Lal Chowk by traders' body in J&K. Protests were also organised in various other parts of South Kashmir, where anti-India slogans were also raised.
Srinagar, Aug 31: A two-day shutdown has been imposed in Kashmir Valley by separatist groups to protest the potential abrogation of Article 35-A, which prohibits a non-resident of Jammu & Kashmir to own a property in the state.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference said the Centre is conspiring to scrap the law as "it intends to change the demography of the Valley". JKLF chief Yasin Malik said their protest is directed against the central government which has not opposed the plea challenging Article 35-A in the Supreme Court.
The apex court will hear the petition tomorrow moved by an NGO, 'We The Citizens'. The petitioner claims that the law violates the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, and hence the judiciary should scrap it.
Notably, Article 35-A was incorporated in the Indian Constitution in 1954 via an ordinance. It was a pre-condition imposed by then J&K Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah before for the state's unification with the Indian union.
A sit-in was organised today at Srinagar's Lal Chowk by traders' body in J&K. Protests were also organised in various other parts of South Kashmir, where anti-India slogans were also raised.
"Despite curbs, curfews, house arrests complete strike across J&K as people express their strong resentment & protest against the nefarious design of tinkering with state subject laws. No amount of coercion will deter people from fighting this assault with all our might & conviction (sic)," tweeted Hurriyat (M) leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti had also marked apprehensions against the admission of plea against Article 35-A by the judiciary. She claimed that the law, along with Article 370, are the "final strings" which connects Kashmir with India.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 30, 2018 09:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).