REGIONAL

Actions of admin suggest SC verdict on 370 to be against country’s interest: Mehbooba Mufti

By News Desk

December 09, 2023

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday expressed concerns suggesting that the recent actions of the Jammu and Kashmir administration indicate an imminent Supreme Court verdict on petitions related to Article 370.

Mufti remarked that this potential decision might not align with the country’s interests.

“Since Friday night, we are witnessing lists containing names of workers from various parties, especially the PDP, being processed through police stations. It seems an unfavourable decision for the country and Jammu and Kashmir is imminent, serving only to advance the BJP’s agenda. Consequently, precautionary measures are being taken, which is unfortunate,” Mufti said to reporters in Anantnag.

She emphasised the Supreme Court’s duty to safeguard the country’s integrity and the Constitution, urging it not to succumb to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) agenda.

Mufti insisted that the court’s decision should unequivocally declare the BJP-led Centre’s actions on August 5, 2019, to abrogate Article 370 as “illegal, unconstitutional,” and contrary to the interests of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the commitments made to its people.

“Initially, the Supreme Court took an extended period, five years, to hear the cases. Moreover, its past rulings asserted that only the constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir could annul Article 370. Therefore, the decision should be straightforward: what occurred on August 5, 2019, was illegal, unconstitutional, and against the interests of Jammu and Kashmir and its people,” former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.