On Saturday, PDP president and former Chief Minister of J&K Mehbooba Mufti asked prime minister Narendra Modi to leave Kashmir if he thinks that Article 370 is bad. She was responding to PM saying that Article 370 has done maximum damage to the state.
Mehbooba Mufti said that if PM thinks Kashmir is a financial burden on the country, the state should be let go. She went on to say, “If the prime minister believes that our relationship has a foundation without Article 370 then leave Kashmir. If he thinks Kashmir is staring at bankruptcy then leave Kashmir. Why does he want to take the burden of this bankruptcy?”
Mehbooba Mufti: Agar PM ko lagta hai ki Kashmir khasare mein hai toh phir woh iss khasare ko chhor dein.Agar unko lagta hai ki 370 ke binah par humare rishte ki buniyaad hai…Kashmir ko chhor dein,ab woh kasie chorna chahte hain…kyun khasara mol lena chahte hain itne saalon se pic.twitter.com/4DI6Q2aK6O
— ANI (@ANI) April 27, 2019
PM Modi, in an interview to Aajtak, said that Article 370 and 35A have done maximum damage to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. “We set up AIIMS and IIM in Kashmir but top professors are not ready to go there because they can’t buy property there. The rents there are very high. There is no investment in J&K because investors feel they won’t get land there,” said the PM.
He added that Kashmir is facing bankruptcy, terrorists have ended tourism in the state and people do not invest here due to Article 370 and 35A. On being asked why the BJP wasn’t able to fulfil its promise of removing these articles, he said that people who talk about separation have no right to contest for the elections.
In the BJP manifesto, the party had promised to abrogate Article 370 and Article 35-A of the Indian constitution if they get back to power.
Mehbooba Mufti had claimed that she had fought with the BJP for two years in order to protect Article 370, during the PDP-BJP rule in the state. She said, “I had made it clear to Modi that if they tinker with the special status of the state then PDP will leave the government.”
Mehbooba Mufti had also accused the Congress and the NCP of attempting to reduce the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. When Congress leader Ghulam Nabi became the Chief Minister he sold state land to Amarnath board. NC founder late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah became the chief minister after signing the 1975 accord with Indira Gandhi.
