BJP condemns Mehbooba Mufti's remark on national flag, says 'Article 35A not a sacred cow'

Jammu: Expressing shock and surprise over its ally and Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s flag remarks, the BJP on Saturday asserted that Article 35A of the Constitution which grants special status to the state is “not a sacred cow that cannot be touched”. The state unit of the BJP said that while the party stands by the agenda of alliance with the PDP and won’t seek alteration of existing constitutional position, “it is equally true that Article 35A has done more harm to the state than any other provision of law.” [caption id=“attachment_3870907” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Mehbooba Mufti. PTI[/caption] The biggest challenge before the state is to save the Sufi ethos of Kashmir’s culture which is facing an assault from separatism and Islamic fundamentalism in the Valley, it said. The party said all efforts of the state government and the Kashmiri people should be towards the protection of these human values and identity, instead of raking issues of Article 35A and Article 370 which have led to inequalities and have retarded the state’s growth due to “self-isolation”. “We are greatly shocked and surprised by the statement of Mehbooba that by challenging Article 35A, the nationalist forces in the Valley get weakened and that…India will not get a shoulder to carry its national flag in the state”, BJP state spokesperson Virender Gupta told reporters. “Article 370 was incorporated in Indian Constitution as a temporary provision. It (Article 35A and Article 370) is not a sacred cow that cannot be touched,” he said. Mehbooba Mufti on Friday said at a function in New Delhi “Who is doing it? Why are they doing it? (challenging the Article 35A). Let me tell you that my party and other parties who carry the national flag there (in Jammu and Kashmir) despite all risks…I have no doubt in saying that there will be no one to hold it (national flag) (if it is tinkered).” Referring to militancy and fundamentalism, the BJP on Saturday said “these challenges are extremely great than what these leaders, in particular, the separatists, perceive, i.e. the removal of Article 35 or Article 370”, Gupta said. Sunil Sethi, chief spokesperson of state BJP, said the CM’s remarks on Article 35A do not depict the true picture and are politically incorrect. “Article 35A has in fact led to disparity and inequalities in the state,” Sethi said. It has created a situation where there is no gender parity for female state subjects and their children, he claimed. “Though the party stands by the agenda of alliance and won’t seek alteration of existing Constitutional position it is equally true that Article 35A has done more harm to the state than any other provision of law,” he said. He also blamed the provision for slow growth and progress of the state. “Despite having natural resources, the state is in a financial mess because of self-isolation,” Sethi said. He said that bearing the national flag in the state is an honour for all citizens and the party firmly believes that every person of the state is first an Indian and then a state subject. “Nationalism of the people of the state can’t be understated by linking it with the continuation of Art 35A,” he said. Gupta said terrorists and separatists are causing disturbances in the Valley, at the behest of Pakistan, its spy agency ISI and Islamic State. “The majority of the population in Jammu and Kashmir is nationalist and committed to upholding the integrity of the country and believes that their interests and aspirations are safe as Indians,” Gupta said. He said that Kashmir is facing a serious danger from the spread of Islamic fundamentalism and referred to the “unimaginable disaster” unleashed by these forces in Syria, Iraq and some of the other countries.