J&K Assembly Pushes for Return of Article 370 Autonomy

On Wednesday, the legislative assembly of Jammu and Kashmir passed a resolution calling for communication between elected officials and the central government in order to restore Article 370, which gave the former state special status.

The House was adjourned due to the frequent disruptions caused by the BJP MLAs’ use of slogans such as “August 5 Zindabad,” “Jai Shri Ram,” “Vande Mataram,” “Anti-national Agenda Nahi Chalega,” “Anti-Jammu Agenda Nahi Chalega,” “Pakistani Agenda Nahin Chalega,” and “Speaker Hai Hai.”

When the opposition BJP staged a disturbance and protest, tearing copies of the paper, the house proceedings were halted for an hour. News agency PTI said that the BJP MLAs had taken over the House and are now camped there.

The Speaker moved the resolution to voice vote amid the confusion, and it passed without any debate. The resolution also expressed “concern” over the “unilateral removal” of the special status.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary proposed the motion, and Sakina Masood, a minister and leader of the National Conference, supported it.

“That this legislative assembly reaffirms the importance of the special status and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture, and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and expresses concern over their unilateral removal,” the resolution said.

“This Assembly calls upon the Government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives of people of J&K for restoration of special status, Constitutional guarantees and to work out the Constitutional mechanisms for restoring these provisions. This Assembly emphasises that any process for restoration must safeguard both national unity and the legitimate aspirations of the people of J&K,” it added.

After the BJP opposed the resolution, chaos broke out. Members of the BJP ripped copies of the resolution and tossed pieces into the House’s well.

NC members chanted for the motion to be passed while Nizamuddin Bhat, the Congress MLA for Bandipora claimed that the BJP members had dishonoured the House and broken the rules.

On August 5th 2019, the Union government abolished Articles 370 and 35A, and a Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court confirmed the Parliament’s authority to do so.

Also Read | US Election result: Donald Trump’s possible triumph could mean this for India