*SRINAGAR, MAY 25 (PTK): *Senior Leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),the former deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Kavinder Gupta saidBJP in very clear terms has said that if Article 370 separated Kashmir fromIndia it would be undesirable for us and BJP will remove 370 now.
In an exclusive conversation with News Agency Press Trust of Kashmir (PTK)Gupta said, “If there were some good things in the Article 370 then we wereready to adopt but there is nothing good in article 370 and 35A, and it’stime to remove both the article from Jammu and Kashmir”.
Gupta said that the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution continuesto be part of the party’s core ideology and it will work in that directionwhenever it garners the required numbers in Parliament.
“As far as the abrogation of Article 370 is concerned, it continues to bepart of the core ideology of BJP, but right now we don’t have enoughnumbers in Parliament to do away with it … but in future when we have therequired numbers we will work towards its removal,” Kavinder Gupta said inan interview with PTK.
Repealing Article 370, which grants special status to the state of Jammu &Kashmir, would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament as theConstitution would have to be amended. He said, “People in Kashmir wantdevelopment, for that we need to remove article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir”.
When asked will it be possible for BJP to remove article from constitution,Gupta said there is no question of that because removal of Article 370 hasbeen the core conviction of our party, right from the beginning. “We areall committed to removal of Article 370 because we see it as a bighindrance in the process of emotional integration of the people of Kashmirvalley with the rest of the country. It creates an emotional barrier”, hesaid.
Gupta further added that Kashmir is very much integral part of India andnobody in this world can separate Kashmir from India. When asked aboutAssembly elections Gupta added next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmirwill be from the BJP as the party will come to power on its own in thestate.
Gupta said, “BJP will form its own government in Jammu and Kashmir withfull majority in coming assembly elections and the chief minister will befrom the BJP.
Yesterday Abdullah National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah Prime MinisterNarendra Modi cannot remove Article 35A and Article 370 that grant specialstatus to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Let him be as powerful as he [Modi] likes, he cannot remove Article 370and Article 35A [from the state of Jammu and Kashmir],” Abdullah said. Hesaid instead of dividing the country, the prime minister should makeefforts to unite the people.
“Our right of Article 370 and Article 35-A should be protected,” the formerJammu and Kashmir chief minister said. “ This is very important for us. Weare soldiers of this country not enemies of this nation.”
However BJP during the Lok Sabha election rallies said that Article 370will be withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir, if the saffron party is voted topower again.