Row over Article 35A: Farooq Abdullah threatens to boycott Lok Sabha polls

Srinagar, Sep 8: National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said that his party will boycott the assembly and parliamentary polls too if the Centre does not take effective steps for protection of Article 35-A.

Abdullah's threat comes days the National Conference said that it will boycott the upcoming local body elections in Jammu and Kashmir over Article 35A, a constitutional provision that defines "permanent residents" of the state.

"We will not only boycott Panchayat elections but also Lok Sabha and assembly elections if the centre doesn't clear its stand on Article 35A and Article 370," Mr Abdullah said on Saturday.

He was addressing party workers at a function here to mark the 36th death anniversary of his father and NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.

"On one hand they (Centre) want to conduct polls here. On the other hand they want to revoke Article 35-A, Article 370 has been weakened and there are also attacks on the (Jammu and Kashmir) Constitution," Abdullah said.

"The role of the central government and the present dispensation in Jammu and Kashmir before the Supreme Court goes clearly against the wishes and aspirations of the people of the state," he said.

Article 35-A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and bars people from outside the state from acquiring any immovable property in the state. It is facing legal challenge in the Supreme Court.