Kashmiri Pandits demands removal of Article 370, 35A from Constitution, calls it 'unnecessary baggage'

Jammu: Kashmiri Pandits on Tuesday termed Article 370 and Article 35A of the Indian Constitution an “unnecessary baggage” of the past and demanded that these laws be repealed. [caption id=“attachment_4209125” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Kashmiri Pandits. AFP[/caption] Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, president of Panun Kashmir, an organisation representing displaced Kashmiri Pandits, said the laws were in “contravention of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens of India under the Constitution”. “They should be abrogated…as soon as possible.” Article 370 grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, while Article 35A empowers the state legislature to define permanent citizens. “We would like to make it very clear that Article 370 and Article 35A have become an unnecessary baggage of the past,” Chrungoo told reporters. Kashmiri Pandits had on Tuesday organised a ‘Decade Event’ in Jammu to mark the 50-day Kashmir ‘Sankalp Yatra’ organised in 2007 in support of their demands and which covered 11 states. Several organisations representing the interests of the Kashmiri Pandits, including Kashmir Displaced Sikh Forum and Youth All India Kashmir Samaj, participated in the event.