Advani criticises Kashmir's autonomy

New Delhi, Mar 22: Promising to abolished Article 370, senior BJP leader Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blog against the autonomy of Jammu Kashmir, saying that BJP will stand against any attempt to turn back constitutional clock.

"All that the country wants is to move forward to the complete abrogation of Article 370," Advani said, referring to the constitutional provision that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir in India.

"The nation will not allow the constitutional clock to be turned back in respect to the state's integration with India," the veteran BJP leader blogged.

Until 1953, Jammu Kashmir enjoyed a separate head called Prime Minister and the state was out of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India, and the comptroller and auditor general.

A specila permit had to be obtained by Indian citizen who wanted to the state.

But the permit was abolished later and the clauses in the article, which Advani called 'separatist provisions' was also gradually diluted.

"When in the name of Kashmir's autonomy, it is nowadays said that the dilution of Article 370 that took place post-1953 must be undone, it is all these wholesome provisions of the Indian constitution which are sought to be once again scrapped in their application to the state of Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

"The nation's clarion call to the powers-that-be is that India will never forget Shyama Prasad Mookerji's sacrifice," he said while remembering the Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder, who entered Jammu Kashmir in 1953, in defiance the permit system.

Mookerji was imprisoned for his act and he eventually fell after he staged a hunger strike. He later died.

OneIndia News