Kashmiris lived with Article 370 for 70 years; now, they are looking forward to a life without it and they want to give the new turn of events a chance, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said here on Sunday.
“Kashmiris are never known to be quite. A spark of provocation is enough for them to take to the streets. There is no ‘calm disobedience’ there. Yes, they are wisely watching. Those who want to be disobedient, they will be disobedient. But by and large the people of Kashmir, I am sure, want to give this turn of events a chance,” he said.
Mr. Madhav was reacting to a remark by A.S. Dulat, former Director of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), who called the situation in Kashmir “calm disobedience”. He was speaking at the Military Literature Festival here, and the topic was “Article 370 and the death knell of terrorism”. Mr. Dulat moderated the session.
Mr. Madhav said Kashmiris were now experiencing life without Article 370. “It is a bold step taken by the government, and I am sure the new situation would ensure development and complete integration of the region with India.” The dilution of Article 370 was done in the most democratic manner, he said, disclosing that political prisoners like the former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah would be freed soon. The process was under way to keep the political activity going.
“We would restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. During the discussion, Mr. Madhav said the BJP’s alliance with the PDP was based on an agenda of development and security, agreed to by both parties. “After working with Ms. Mehbooba Mufti [the PDP leader] for a year and a half, we experienced some difficulties in furthering our agenda of security and decided to quit [the alliance] and impose President’s rule on [the erstwhile State],” he said.
Congress MP Manish Tewari argued that the dilution of Article 370 had nothing to do with terrorism and had subverted the processes enshrined in the Constitution. With its mindless decision, he said, the Centre had alienated the mainstream leaders, too.
