The BJP has lamented the National Conference-led Jammu and Kashmir government’s resolution on special status on Wednesday, tearing copies of the document in the well of the Union Territory’s House and saying it had no “legal sanctity”. Party workers also held a protest in Jammu.
The Leader of the Opposition in the J&K Assembly, Sunil Sharma, termed the resolution to be introduced without being listed in the business of the day. “We were scheduled to discuss the address by the Lieutenant Governor. But the government cleverly and suddenly moved this resolution.”
The LoP went on to term the resolution “illegal and unconstitutional”, adding it has “no legal sanctity because this (J&K) Assembly is not above the Parliament or the Supreme Court.” Calling Article 370 history, the LoP said that there could be “no one can change this history now”.
BJP IT department incharge Amit Malviya, however, had a different take. He posted on X that the resolution was an “interesting development” that “reflects a new approach by the ruling National Conference”. “Instead of insisting on the full restoration of Article 370, the resolution calls for open dialogue on the issue — a significant shift that acknowledges the new reality, post 5th Aug 2019,” he posted.
Sharma also attacked the Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather, for what had transpired in the Assembly, saying he was “part of the government’s discussions for drafting the resolution” and calling him a “political worker”.
Alleging that chief minister Omar Abdullah “wants to bring poor people on the streets again” by introducing the conversation on statehood, Sharma accused that they are worried about the people that have settled in after August 5, 2019.
“They have a habit of misleading the people of Kashmir. People who used to indulge in street politics by fooling people in the name of 370, autonomy or Jamaat-e-Islami…” he added.