P Chidambaram backs J&K parties' demand for restoration of Article 370, cites Constitution

On Sunday, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram saluted the courage of mainstream political parties in Jammu and Kashmir for fighting the repeal of Article 370. A day earlier, NC's Farooq Abdullah, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti, Congress' GA Mir, CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami, J&K People's Conference leader Sajad Gani Lone and ANC's Muzaffar Shah resolved to strive for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A and statehood. Chidambaram urged them to remain steadfast on their demands and ignore uninformed criticism. 

The Rajya Sabha MP contended that the attempt to re-write history must be thwarted. Backing the stance of J&K's mainstream political parties, he pointed out that the Constitution had special provisions for states. Elaborating on his point, Chidambaram questioned the Centre on the way to solve the Naga conflict if it was against making special provisions. 

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Joint statement

Revealing that they have barely managed to establish a basic level of communication with each other, the leaders of 6 mainstream political parties in J&K accused the government of imposing punitive curbs aimed at impeding political interactions. As per the joint statement, the division of the state into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh was deemed "unacceptable". Terming the series of measures undertaken on August 5, 2019, as "grossly unconstitutional", the leaders observed that changes posed a challenge to the basic identity of the people of J&K. Moreover, they alleged that these changes were accompanied by repressive measures to silence people. 

Situation in J&K

In August 2019, a presidential notification along with the passage of requisite legislation in both Houses of Parliament resulted in Article 370 becoming virtually redundant. Furthermore, the state was bifurcated into the Union Territory of J&K and Union Territory of Ladakh. Subsequently, several restrictions on the movement of people, communication, and internet services were imposed in the region.

Multiple leaders including former Chief Ministers Farooq and Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti were detained. While the Public Safety Act charges against the Abdullah father-son duo were withdrawn in March 2020, Mufti was recently shifted to her Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar. On July 31, her detention under the PSA was extended by three months. 

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