Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani has again raised the demand for abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution which confers special status on Jammu & Kashmir.
In his latest entry on his blog, paying tribute to Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the senior BJP leader wrote, “The country eagerly awaits the day when Art. 370 would be repealed, and the two vidhans also would become one!”
The emphatic tone of Mr. Advani is bound to raise eyebrows as the BJP has kept the demand on Article 370 on the back burner as part of an understanding with its electoral partners in the NDA. The BJP has put on hold three main items on the Hindutva agenda of the party — uniform civil code, construction of Ram temple and special status of Jammu & Kashmir — as a tactical move to bring like-minded parties under the umbrella of the NDA.
In his blog, he noted that the perceived mysterious death of Dr. Mookerjee at a detention centre in J&K while he was leading an agitation for abrogation of Article 370 in June 1953 and its spin-off effects “significantly promoted the process of national integration”.
“First and foremost, the permit system was abolished. Until this time, neither the Supreme Court nor the Election Commission nor the Comptroller and Auditor General had any jurisdiction over Jammu and Kashmir State. The authority of these three constitutional bodies was extended to the State.”
