Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury-led PAC parliamentary panel to visit Kashmir & Ladakh for five days

A parliamentary panel led by the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is currently being put together for a visit to Kashmir. According to the sources, the panel chaired by the Congress MP will undertake a five-day trip to Kashmir and Ladakh. The panel will visit the Union Territory to learn about the situation and would also meet with the local leaders.

The upcoming five-day trip will be the first time parliamentarians of various parties, including the Opposition, visits Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. According to the sources, the members of the Public Accounts Committee will visit Srinagar, Drass, Kargil and Leh during the trip. The panel is also set to visit Kargil on August 15 in a bid to join the Independence Day celebrations and hoist the national flag. The group of MPs will also review the situation of the armed forces deployed in the valley and Ladakh regions. The panel is expected to assess the high-altitude clothing and food provided to the personnel in the region.

Rahul Gandhi to visit Srinagar on August 9

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had informed that he will be visiting Srinagar, Jammu, and Kashmir on August 9. The visit is notable as this will be the Congress leader’s first visit to the UT of Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of the erstwhile state’s special status under Article 370. The Congress leader is likely to engage with INC party workers in the region while on his trip to Srinagar and discussing the current situation of the party in the state.

Abrogation of Article 370

On August 5, 2019, the Narendra Modi-led Central government abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. The said article was a 'temporary provision' that granted autonomous, special status to the state. In 1947, the provision was drafted by Sheikh Abdullah, who was appointed as the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir by Maharaja Hari Singh and former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Along with Article 370, Article 35A was also abrogated by the two houses of the Parliament, which defined who are the permanent residents of the state, and barred citizens from the rest of the country from settling or buying property in the said region. 

IMAGE: PTI