Srinagar, Aug 07: Peoples Democratic Party General Secretary (Organization) Dr Mehboob Beg on Monday said that what happened on August 05, 2019, was not only “unconstitutional” but the procedure adopted to do the same was “unknown to law”.
Commenting on the abrogation of Article 370 and the ongoing proceedings before the Supreme Court, Beg said, “Had the Supreme Court taken suo moto cognizance of the matter immediately after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and asked Government of India not to proceed with any consequential action, the people might have heaved a sigh of relief.”
Article 370 was temporary not because it was to be abrogated but because it was not yet approved by the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, after which it was to become a permanent feature, he said.
Dr Beg further said, “While one must never lose hope but one must be wary of getting one’s expectations too high for a considerable time has passed and a lot of decisions have been implemented in the erstwhile State ever since the abrogation of Article 370. The best way to fight for one’s constitutional rights was to resist in a constitutional manner.”
He said the BJP on August 05, 2019, acted “politically” and not as per the Constitution, “Therefore, the same had to be fought politically like the farmers did and made the government withdraw the laws framed by the same Parliament, even though that was within the jurisdiction of the Parliament and doing away with Article 370 was not,” he said.
On the unity within the PAGD, Dr Beg remarked that the PDP believes in unity and a united fight for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A. “We respect the sentiment of the people and our president Mehbooba Mufti Ji is leading from the front to achieve a bigger goal for which we must all rise above party affiliations,” he said.
