The contentious Article 370 is part of the history now. In a predictable move after days of troop buildup in the Kashmir valley, the Modi Government on Monday scrapped Article 370 to do away with Jammu & Kashmir’s special status and also proposed the bifurcation of the State into two union territories, Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.
By doing so, the BJP-led dispensation hopes to fulfill its poll promise and deal with a protracted militancy movement that has been ravaging the State for past three decades.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the decision in the Rajya Sabha, which approved the resolution and the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill. Both will now come up in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The Government’s effort to tackle head-on the vexatious 72-year-old problem wracking the soul of the nation sent a wave of jubilation among BJP supporters and others, but provoked outrage from the National Conference and the PDP, the principal political parties in Jammu & Kashmir.
According to the resolution moved by the Home Minister, Article 370 ceases to be operative from Monday itself. “The President on the recommendation of Parliament is pleased to declare as from 5th of August 2019, all clauses of the said Article 370 shall cease to be operative...,” the resolution stated.
Shah also moved a Bill proposing bifurcation of J&K into two union territories — Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The union territory in Ladakh will have no legislature like Chandigarh. The other union territory of Jammu & Kashmir will have a legislature like Delhi and Puducherry, where key subjects like law and order are with the Centre.
Shah said full statehood will be restored to Jammu & Kashmir at “appropriate time” and after “normalcy” returns. The Government will not allow the situation to turn into another battle torn Kosovo, he said.
The Government hopes that abrogation of Article 370 that accorded special status to Jammu & Kashmir and the consequential end of Article 35A that defines the permanent residents of the State will help in the integration of the erstwhile J&K State into the Union of India like any other state or union territories and cease special rights enjoyed by its citizens on land, business and employment.
As the Government moved a Bill to convert J&K into a union territory with an Assembly and a Lieutenant Governor and thereby the Centre wielding major power over it, the State has “lost” its privileged status like Assembly enjoying six-year tenure, outsiders not allowed to buy land and Kashmiri women marrying outside forfeiting their rights over land in Kashmir.
Twenty four seats which fall in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) shall remain vacant in new Assembly of J&K union territory.
Abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35-A would permit citizens outside Kashmir to move in, settle and start business in the new union territory of J&K, barring special restrictions imposed by its Government. The Union Government would now play a central role in controlling State police and land issues.
Lt Governor who will “consult the Election Commission” will have final powers over deciding the disqualification of Assembly members in J&K. Its Assembly will not legislate on “public order” and “police”. Law of Parliament “shall prevail” if a law made in State list in the seventh schedule to the Constitution “is repugnant to any provision of law made by Parliament”.
Similarly, “a Bill or amendment shall not be introduced in Legislative Assembly except on recommendation of the Lt Governor” on imposition, abolition, remission, alternation of any tax or relation to consolidated fund of India, seats for SC/STs would be reserved in J&K Assembly.
According to the Government, the abolition of Article 370 will “completely integrate” the State with the Indian Union like other princely States in 1950 and its residents will enjoy equal rights like other citizens.
The large population of young Kashmiris, studying and working in other States of India will get the “power and confidence” to be equal citizens of India, without they being categorised as a special citizen.
According to Government officials, the ease with which private and public investment will flow into both these new UTs will lead to much faster development of the economy, the development of high-quality educational institutions and the flow of a large corpus of funds to develop tourism in these underdeveloped regions, they said.
The Presidential order signed by the President of India has not scrapped Article 370. But invoking this very Article, special status of J&K has been withdrawn. Thus Article 370 is very much on the statute book, say constitutional and legal experts.
Some insignificant amendments have been made by this order such as substitution of term Constituent Assembly by the State by the Legislative Assembly of State and Sadar-e-Riyasat by the Governor of State.
Presidential Order has extended all the provisions of constitution to Kashmir.
