Mehbooba Mufti meets Narendra Modi over special status
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and said he has assured her that there will be “no fiddling” with the state’s special status.
She, however, failed to get any response to her demand that the Centre should help in her legal battle in maintaining the status quo, sources said.
The Supreme Court is hearing a plea by an RSS-backed NGO that has challenged special constitutional provisions made for J&K. Now, the state Assembly may pass a resolution to protect the status quo, DNA has learnt.
Article 370 of the Constitution recognises special status to the state, while Article 35A empowers the J&K government to frame laws to bar all Indians — except original inhabitants — from purchasing immovable property in the state, getting government jobs and availing of state-sponsored scholarship schemes there.
The Central government has so far avoided taking a stand in the apex court on Article 35A that has been challenged by the NGO.
This comes at a time when the J&K alliance has become strained as the CM is fighting growing calls from her own ally BJP to repeal the law.
Emerging from a 15-minute meeting with the PM, she said that the basis of …read more
