Mehbooba Mufti on Article 370 anniversary: BJP 'looted' J&K's special status like Ram Temple row

Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti led a protest in Srinagar on Tuesday evening, on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370. She used strong language to criticise the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, drawing a parallel between the removal of J&K's special status and the Ram Temple issue.

Addressing the gathering, Ms. Mufti said, “The way the BJP looted the Ram Temple, is the same way it looted the special status from people of J&K.” She did not elaborate on the comparison, but her remarks were met with slogans from supporters demanding the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A.

The former Chief Minister termed August 4 as “the darkest night in J&K’s history.” She asserted that Article 370 and 35A were not given to J&K by Pakistan or China, but by the Indian Constitution. “However, the BJP used the brute majority to snatch Article 370 from J&K. We are an alive nation and will keep fighting for it,” she said without specifying what she meant by “alive nation”.

Ms. Mufti further claimed that B.R. Ambedkar’s Constitution “was first diluted for J&K but people of the country stayed silent.” She added, “However, people are getting to know how the BJP was treating the Constitution.”

Carrying the Indian flag in one hand and the erstwhile J&K State’s separate flag in the other, Ms. Mufti said that Article 370 “provided a protection of J&K’s land, identity and jobs.”

She also demanded the release of youths from J&K who are currently in jails both within and outside the Union Territory. Pointing to recent violence, she said, “People are dying on both sides of Kashmir. In Muzaffarabad and Rawalakot, Kashmiris are dying. We saw a police constable killed recently on this side of Kashmir. It was followed by hundreds of arrests of locals. Houses were also demolished. A house, where the militant is not living anymore, was also demolished. Our two labourers were also killed.” These statements were personal accounts and could not be independently verified at the time of reporting.

Meanwhile, the PDP alleged that Ms. Mufti’s daughter, Iltija Mufti, was “heckled by the police” during the protest in Srinagar. The party did not provide further details. After the incident, PDP supporters raised slogans demanding the return of Article 370 and 35A.

Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu & Kashmir, was abrogated by the central government on August 5, 2019. The state was subsequently bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The anniversary has been observed by some groups in the region as a day of protest, while the central government has maintained that the move was necessary for the full integration of J&K with the rest of India and for its development.