New Delhi, Mar 22: Recalling the sacrifices made by Sangh ideologue S P Mookerjee for removal of special status to Jammu and Kashmir, BJP Parliamentary Party Chairman L K Advani today demanded through his blog that Article 370 of the Indian Constitution be abrogated.
Advani, who attended the ceremony to unveil a statue of Mookerjee at Madhopur, Pathankot last week, enumerated the hardships faced by the latter in his fight for abrogation of Article 370.
"After the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1950, Dr Mookerjee resigned from the (Jawaharlal Nehru) government expressing sharp differences with Pandit Nehru over his handling of Kashmir, as also Pakistan, particularly with reference to East Bengal," Advani said in his blog.
Jammu and Kashmir had acceded to India. However, the Constitution of India as framed had incorporated Article 370 into it, as a consequence the state had a separate Constitution, a separate Head of State and a separate flag.
"... Besides, any Indian citizen wanting to visit Jammu and Kashmir was allowed entry only if he had a permit. Dr Mookerjee made defiance of this embargo as the symbol of his challenge to Article 370 and the state's separatist provisions," Advani said.
He recalled that Mookerjee resigned from Congress in 1950 due to differences with Nehru and gave a call for Kashmir's full integration with India at the Bharatiya Jana Sangh conclave at Kanpur in 1953. He then embarked on a tour of India with Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Advani states that Mookerjee was accosted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police at Madhopur and asked if he was carrying a permit.
"Dr Mookerjee told the authorities that he believed that as an Indian citizen – besides being a Member of Parliament - had a right to go to any part of India," Advani said.
Mookerjee then sent off Vajpayee and courted arrest. On June 23, 1953 Mookerji fell ill while in detention and passed away after a couple of days.
"The anger in the people (over Mookerjee's death) had some immediate consequences. The permit system was promptly abolished. By August 1953, the Government in Jammu and Kashmir was changed!" Advani said.

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