Articles 35A, 370 required to be scrapped: Santosh Hegde
Hyderabad: Retired Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde Tuesday said Articles 35A and 370, giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir, are required to be scrapped as they run counter to the rights of other states.
He said in 1948 when the Maharaja of Kashmir agreed to merge the state of Kashmir with India, certain assurances were given to the people by introducing Article 35A and Article 370 of the Constitution.
Though the wording of this looks like the assurance is "permanent", in the background in which it was given and the consequential things that have happened in the nation indicate it's not possible to continue these articles because if Kashmir is an integral part of India, it can't have a separate status compared to other states, Hegde said.
"So, in today's context both the articles are causing a lot of problems for the country as a whole", the former Solicitor General of India told PTI in an interview. "So, I don't think it's possible to continue that article".
He said "today's situation" requires those articles to be scrapped because certain autonomy given under that Act would run counter to the rights of other states and if Kashmir is an integral part of India, then it must have only an equal status with others.
"I think 70 years have gone by...whatever was the purpose of those articles...according to me, it has served that purpose.
Therefore, now it can't be said that Kashmir is not an integral part of India. Therefore, these two articles do not have any place in the constitution anymore", the former Karnataka Lokayukta said.
Article 370 grants special status to J&K and 35A prohibits outsiders from purchasing land and property in that state.
The BJP has in its election manifesto promised to repeal the articles if it retains power after the Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, referring to campaigning by political parties for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Hegde, a former Advocate General of Karnataka, said "We have come to the lowest possible standards in our electioneering now".
Hegde mentioned in particular controversial comments made by Union Minister Maneka Gandhi regarding "minorities' votes" and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on his BJP opponent and film actor Jaya Prada.
"Politics is in the lowest ebb possible today. I think unless there is a change in the thinking and moral standard of these politicians go up, I think we are in big trouble in the days to come", he said.
Irrespective of political parties, some of their members have gone to such a level that they don't deserve to be in politics, he said.
"And this is not the political campaign India would have expected from its leaders. It's a very cheap and low level of campaigning, without any moral standards", he said.
"Unfortunately, it's not confined to only one political party. Every day standard is coming so low, it's a very sad thing that in a country of values like India, that we have to suffer this", Hegde said.
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Rupee falls 20 paise to 95.43 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 20 paise to 95.43 against US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as market sentiments remained fragile after renewed military exchanges between US and Iranian forces in the Gulf region.
Forex traders said investor anxiety due to instability in the Gulf is causing massive capital flight into safe-haven assets, with the US dollar acting as the primary beneficiary.
Moreover, Brent oil prices is hovering near USD 113 per barrel, maintaining pressure on oil-importing economies like India.
At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 95.30 then lost ground to touch 95.43 against the US dollar, in initial trade, registering a fall of 20 paise over its previous close.
Rupee fell 39 paise to close at an all-time low of 95.23 against the US dollar on Monday.
"With oil boiling rupee on Monday fell to a closing low of 95.0875 and this morning the opening was still lower as it becomes more and more vulnerable when dollar index rises due to safe-haven buying and oil prices rise due to the continuous fighting in the Gulf Region," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
The higher oil prices will keep rupee sold off against the dollar as oil companies and FPIs intensify dollar buying, Bhansali added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.51, up 0.15 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 1.07 per cent at USD 113.22 per barrel in futures trade.
"Market sentiments remained fragile after renewed military exchanges between US and Iranian forces when Iranian forces launched fresh attacks in the Gulf as both sides sought to assert control over the strategic waterway," Bhansali said.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 361.62 points to 76,907.78 in early trade, while the Nifty dropped 134.90 points to 23,980.60.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,835.62 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
