Row over Article 370 escalates; Omar Abdullah, RSS in war of words

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: The row over Article 370 escalated today with J and K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today making it clear that it cannot be abrogated unless the state's Constituent Assembly is recalled and the RSS asking him whether he thought the state was his "parental estate".

Contending that it was impossible for the NDA government to abrogate Article 370 that gives special category status to Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said confusion was being deliberately created on the issue which would further alienate the people of the state.

The Chief Minister said that considering that we claim that entire J and K is ours and the BJP has always been saying that even the Pakistani side of Kashmir is India's part, the Constituent Assembly will have to have members from there too.

"But this is highly impossible. Who is going to recall a Constituent Assembly?," Omar asked, a day after the MoS in the PMO Jitendra Singh stirred a controversy by declaring that the new government has started the process for repealing the provision. Singh has since said he has been "misquoted".

Omar also asked the Centre to make known the "stakeholders" it was talking to for this purpose.

Echoing Omar's views, Congress leader Manish Tewari tweeted, "Art.370 (3) read with Art 370 (2) clarifies 370 cannot be repealed without consent of constituent assembly which does not exist. No brainer."

Another Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi condemned Singh's remarks as "trigger-happy reactions" and said they are "orchestrated" and meant for polarising the polity of the country.

The core group of the ruling National Conference also met in Srinagar and condemned Singh's remarks, saying it has hurt the people of J and K and amounts to endangering the security and the integrity of the country.

"They (BJP government at the Centre) cannot abrogate Article 370 till the Constituent Assembly is recalled. The Constituent Assembly approved accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India. If you want to raise the question once again, then you need to bring the Constituent Assembly and then we will talk," Omar told reporters in Srinagar.

Reacting to Omar's remarks that either J and K won't be part of India or Article 370 that grants special status to the state will still exist, senior RSS leader Ram Madhav said the state will always be an integral part of India with or without the provision.

Madhav also asked whether the Chief Minister thought the state was his "parental estate" and said no one should take any offence to any "open-ended debate" on Article 370.

Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti condemned Singh's remarks, saying it has the potential to divide J and K on communal lines and trigger "another partition".