Hope SC delivers verdict in favour of people of J&K: Ghulam Nabi Azad on Article 370 petitions
Srinagar, Dec 10: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed hope on Sunday that the Supreme Court will deliver a verdict in favour of the people here on a bunch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019.
"I have said it earlier ... there are only two (institutions) that can return articles 370 and 35A to the people of Jammu and Kashmir -- Parliament and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court bench is non-partisan and we hope that it will give a decision in favour of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," Azad told reporters here.
Azad, who floated the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) after parting ways with the Congress, said he cannot foresee Parliament reversing the decisions taken on August 5, 2019 as it would require a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha.
"To return Article 370 and Article 35A would require 350 seats (in the Lok Sabha). Any regional party in Jammu and Kashmir can get three, four or a maximum of five seats. That would not be enough. I do not see the opposition mustering such numbers. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji had the majority, but he did not do it. So it is only the Supreme Court that can do it," he said.
Azad said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their religion or ethnicity, have an emotional attachment with the special provisions of the Constitution that were repealed four years ago.
"The people of Jammu and Kashmir are attached to Article 370 and Article 35A, not politically but emotionally. It is important that these (provisions) are restored for securing our present and future," he said.
The former Union minister pointed out that the special provisions were enacted by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1925 to protect the land and jobs for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
"These provisions found a place in the Constitution of the country after independence in the form of Article 35A. So many governments came and went over the last 100 years and no one felt the need to change it," he added.
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BJP workers protest Bengaluru event on Umar Khalid, taken into preventive custody
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP workers, led by former Bengaluru Mayor M Gautham Kumar, staged a protest outside the heavily fortified BIC in the city on Tuesday ahead of an event.
The editors of the book “Umar Khalid and His World” have planned a reading of excerpts from the book at the venue, followed by a discussion involving several “historians and intellectuals”.
The BJP activists raised slogans demanding the cancellation of the event. They attempted to enter the venue by breaking through the barricades put up by the police.
Police personnel deployed at the spot took the BJP workers into preventive custody.
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The party had on Monday petitioned Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh seeking cancellation of the event organised in support of activist Umar Khalid.
A delegation of BJP leaders led by Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan met the commissioner and submitted a memorandum in this regard.
Khalid is currently in jail in connection with allegations of conspiracy in the 2020 Delhi riots.
In a post on ‘X’ earlier in the day, the Karnataka BJP alleged that while courts are still hearing cases related to anti-national activities, the Congress-backed ecosystem is busy glorifying individuals who aim to divide Bharat.
“Why is Bengaluru being turned into a hub for celebrating such elements? Is this the ‘cultural contribution’ the Siddaramaiah government wants to promote? Our city is a land of innovators and patriots, not a playground for the ‘Tukde Tukde’ (divisive) narrative,” it alleged.
The Supreme Court on April 20 dismissed Khalid’s plea seeking review of a verdict denying him bail, observing that there are reasonable grounds to believe the allegations against him in connection with the conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
The court had earlier said there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Sharjeel Imam (another accused) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), noting that prosecution material suggests their involvement in the “planning, mobilisation, and strategic direction” of the riots.
The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), leaving 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
