Jammu, Dec 18: Senior BJP and Kashmiri Pandit leader, Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo on Monday vehemently criticized PDP chief and former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti’s statements regarding the return of Article 370.
“The statement of PDP President Mehbooba Mufti regarding the so-called return of Article 370 is a new ploy to further hoodwink the public opinion in Jammu and Kashmir. Article 370 is a thing of the past and has been put into the dustbin of history. Any attempt to link it to a flimsy sort of honour and dignity is tantamount to blackmailing the sentiments of people and is hence unacceptable,” said Chrungoo said in a statement.
He referred to the Mufti’s statement in which she said that “the Supreme Court’s decision on Article 370 is not God’s verdict”. He said constitutional provisions are subject to change as per the needs of time and space.
Ashwani invoked India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru’s views on the flexibility of constitutions. Pandit Nehru, whom Mehbooba refers every now and then in this regard said in the constituent assembly of India that there is no permanence in constitutions, he said.
The BJP leader urged politicians like Mehbooba Mufti to learn from historical political developments and refrain from what he termed as “politics of blackmail and sentiment exploitation”. He reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s firm stance that Article 370 would not be reinstated.
In a separate development, Brigadier Anil Gupta, the spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), demanded legal action against Mehbooba Mufti for what he deemed as seditious statements. He condemned Mufti for allegedly equating Bharat to an “occupation force” and denigrating the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir as “slaves”.
“Mehbooba Mufti in her recent statement on X (formerly Twitter) has called Bharat as an ‘occupation force’ and equated the honourable citizens of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as ‘slaves’. She has uploaded an article titled “FROM CITIZENS TO SLAVES” published in the monthly newsletter of PDP, the political party she heads,” Gupta said in a statement.
Such statements are not only provocative but also seditious, calling for charges under Sections 121 and 124A, he added.
The BJP spokesperson accused the People’s Democratic Party and National Conference of pursuing a divisive agenda post the Supreme Court’s validation of the abrogation of Article 370. These political parties were attempting to fill the space left by the Hurriyat to further a separatist narrative, he said.
Addressing PDP’s concerns about Lithium resources, Abhijeet Jasrotia, another BJP spokesperson, clarified in a press release that the lithium deposits are situated in Jammu, not Kashmir. He accused the PDP of having a tunnel-vision leadership that overlooks the equal relevance of Jammu in the Union Territory.
Jasrotia criticized the PDP for its alleged involvement in the Roshni scam, holding them responsible for the persistent electricity crisis in certain areas. Abhijeet reminded the public that genuine concern for the people transcends political borders and affiliations.
