Annulling Articles 370, 35A constitutional coup: Farooq

Tribune News Service
Srinagar, July 20

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said annulling Article 370 and Article 35A would be “tantamount to a constitutional coup”.

He said Article 370 was an “essential and unassailable until the final resolution of the state was reached”.

The NC president, while addressing a convention of party workers in north Kashmir’s Handwara town, said the powers in New Delhi were “scared of the National Conference and the very thought of it coming back to power sent jitters through them”.

Farooq, who has been the vocal defender of the state’s special status, said “not even a single day passes when we don’t hear our enemies cry about the temporality of Article 370”.

“The Article was deemed to be temporary unless the issue of the state was resolved. However, the issue is still lingering. Therefore, Article 370 will continue to be there,” he said.

He said the accession of the state had taken place in “unusual circumstances”. “The Maharaja who was rather vacillating then did not want to accede to any of the two dominions. He wanted the erstwhile state to remain free. However, that didn’t happen. He had to make a choice in extraordinary circumstances,” he said.

“Keeping in view the special circumstances, Article 370 was added to the Constitution of India. The Article will remain as it is until the final resolution of the issue of Jammu and Kashmir is reached. There has been no way forward so far. So until the issue is solved, no power on earth can touch the Article,” he said.

Farooq said Article 35A was the “fallout of Article 370 and fiddling with it will upset all successive amendments to the Presidential Order of 1954”.

“If Article 35A is annulled, all successive Presidential Orders will get annulled automatically,” he said.