Article 35A: Centre firm on abrogation, some decision expected this month

New Delhi, Aug 01: In the past couple of days there has been a lot of speculation in Jammu and Kashmir, following a decision to deploy additional troops.

The move was being seen as an attempt by the Centre to do away with Article 35A. This has been severely resisted by political parties in the Valley. However officials have said that this is mere speculation and the move was aimed at flushing out terrorists, conducting the Panchayat elections peacefully and also to thwart major terror strikes by Pakistan.

While there is concrete intelligence that Pakistan will look to strike big ahead of August 15, officials also say the decision to deploy additional forces is largely aimed at maintaining peace in the Valley.

On Article 35A, a top source in the National Capital tells OneIndia that it would eventually have to go. The process will not be rushed into, the officer said while also adding that one could expect some development in this regard by the end of this month.

The first priority for the Centre would be ensure that the entire Valley is calm before it could conduct the state elections. That is one of the major priorities for the Centre. Any major move relating to the Article would be made only once there is a democratically elected government in the state. Further there are petitions pending in the Supreme Court as well. The Centre is also taking this into account and would also wait for what the courts have to say in this regard.

It may be recalled that National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval had visited the Amarnath shrine and returned to Delhi earlier this week. There is speculation rife that the move could be focused around the removal of Article 35A in the state. The last time such a huge deployment was made was before the Balakot air strike.