Peoples Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone on Monday said that J&K’s special status is sacred and a matter of special provisions offered to the people of the state in order to be part of India and mere thoughts of abrogating it will be tantamount to committing suicide.
Reacting sharply to Amit Shah’s statement on J&K’sspecial status, Sajad said that New Delhi refuses to learn from its pastmistakes and is hell bent on further distancing future generations of J&Kfrom the rest of the country.
“The growing alienation and mistrust in Kashmir is a resultof systematic erosion of Article 370 from its original form. Mere thought ofabrogating Articles 370 & 35-A is further going to damage the relationshipbetween the people of J&K and the rest of India. If New Delhi indeed intendsto tinker with Article 370 & 35-A, it will be tantamount to committingsuicide”, he added.
Sajad said that any misstep in regard to Article 370 has thepotential to further secessionist sentiment in the valley. The secessionistsentiment will get its ultimate mass justification.
“Forget abrogation, mere statements of intent to undermineor dilute Article 370 & Article 35A will fatally shake the foundations ofaccession. Any attempt to actually doaway with it would be as good as saying goodbye to the state of J&K. Itwould prove to be the last straw in the New Delhi’s relationship with the stateof J&K”, he added.
Reiterating his demand to further strengthen Article 370,Sajad said restoring Article 370 to its original pristine is the only solutionto resolve the problem in Kashmir.