BJP senior leader announces to remove Article 370 from Indian constitution
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*SRINAGAR, MAY 25 (PTK): *Senior Leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the former deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Kavinder Gupta said BJP in very clear terms has said that if Article 370 separated Kashmir from India 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 were ready to adopt but there is nothing good in article 370 and 35A, and it’s time to remove both the article from Jammu and Kashmir”.
Gupta said that the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution continues to be part of the party's core ideology and it will work in that direction whenever it garners the required numbers in Parliament.
"As far as the abrogation of Article 370 is concerned, it continues to be part of the core ideology of BJP, but right now we don't have enough numbers in Parliament to do away with it ... but in future when we have the required numbers we will work towards its removal," Kavinder Gupta said in an 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 the Constitution would have to be amended. He said, "People in Kashmir want development, 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 has been the core conviction of our party, right from the beginning. "We are all committed to removal of Article 370 because we see it as a big hindrance in the process of emotional integration of the people of Kashmir valley with the rest of the country. It creates an emotional barrier", he said.
Gupta further added that Kashmir is very much integral part of India and nobody in this world can separate Kashmir from India. When asked about Assembly elections Gupta added next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir will be from the BJP as the party will come to power on its own in the state.
Gupta said, "BJP will form its own government in Jammu and Kashmir with full majority in coming assembly elections and the chief minister will be from the BJP.
Yesterday Abdullah National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot remove Article 35A and Article 370 that grant special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Let him be as powerful as he [Modi] likes, he cannot remove Article 370 and Article 35A [from the state of Jammu and Kashmir],” Abdullah said. He said instead of dividing the country, the prime minister should make efforts to unite the people.
“Our right of Article 370 and Article 35-A should be protected,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said. “ This is very important for us. We are soldiers of this country not enemies of this nation.”
However BJP during the Lok Sabha election rallies said that Article 370 will be withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir, if the saffron party is voted to power again.
