The normal life came to a grinding halt in Kashmir Valley on Saturday in response to a shutdown call by separatists to protest against alleged attempts to strike down the Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution that guarantees special privileges to the citizens of Jammu & Kashmir.
The shutdown was observed two days after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi backed the Agenda of Alliance, a roadmap the PDP and BJP have devised for the coalition Government in J&K. The Agenda guarantees safeguards to the Article 370 of the Constitution.
The Opposition National Conference (NC) said the Chief Minister’s assurances were not reliable as no word has come from the Prime Minister on the sensitive issue. Mehbooba called upon the Prime Minister in New Delhi on August 11.
Joint Resistance leadership (JRl), a grouping of three prominent separatist leaders—Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik—had called for shutdown over the Article 35 A issue.
The issue came to fore after the apex court admitted a petition from a Delhi-based NGO, believed to be closer to RSS, seeking abrogation of Article 35-A, which has been implemented through a presidential order in 1954.