The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Sunday, July 9, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

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BJP leaders back RSS chief’s demand on J&K

NEW DELHI, July 8 (UNI) — Senior BJP leaders today lent support to RSS chief K. Sudarshan’s demand for the imposition of President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir and scrapping of Article 370.

Addressing newspersons in Tiruchirapalli, Party Vice-President Jana Krishnamurthi said he endorsed the RSS chief’s demand. Mr Sudarshan had every right to air his views in a democracy.

Party General Secretary K.N. Govindacharya said in Ranchi that the BJP had taken note of the demand of the RSS chief. The matter was yet to be discussed by the party, he said.

In an apparent reference to the adoption of the autonomy resolution by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, he said an “effective measure” had to be taken in the state in view of the recent developments in the state.

Meanwhile, addressing a “meet the press” programme in Chandigarh, Union Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said he did not oppose the autonomy resolution at the Union Cabinet meeting.

He said in fact he presented the views of his party, an ally of the ruling National Democratic Alliance on the issue of federalism as contained in the Anandpur Sahib resolution which advocated a devolution of all but four subjects of defence, external affairs, communication and currency to the states.

However, Mr Dhindsa said the Anandpur Sahib resolution was entirely different from the autonomy resolution passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly as the former was within the framework of the Constitution.

In Kochi, BJP President Kushabhau Thakre ruled out a return to the pre-1953 situation in the state.

The pre-1953 status was virtually separation of that state from the Union of India depriving the Supreme Court its right to review Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s judgements, the Election Commission its right to hold elections and the power of the Comptroller and Auditor-General to scrutinise its accounts, he said while addressing the party Kerala state executive.

Mr Thakre said the BJP was happy to note that almost all political parties in the country had opposed the demand concealed in the autonomy resolution. India was a multi-religious and multi-lingual country, but attempts aimed at disintegrating it had to be fought with vigour, he added.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah described as “most unfortunate” the countrywide hysteria whipped up over the autonomy demand and said several a misgivings had been spread over the autonomy resolution.

“We wanted a discussion on the report. Nobody tells us which clause of the report is detrimental to the interests of the country,” he said during his meeting with the 17-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs in Srinagar last evening.

Telugu Desam Party Parliamentary Group Leader K. Yerran Naidu said status quo should be maintained regarding Article 370 of the Constitution which conferred special status to Jammu and Kashmir in view of its strategic location across the border.

Opposing the restoration of the pre-1953 status to the border state, he told newspersons in Vishakapatnam that the Centre should identify the peculiar problems the state had been facing and provide more powers to check infiltration and terrorist activities.

He said while the TDP opposed the autonomy resolution as it would lead to division of the country, it would continue to plead for more powers to the states and implementation of the Sarkaria Commission recommendations in toto, besides allocation of 50 per cent of the central funds to the states against the present 29 per cent.

Akali Dal (Democratic) President Kuldip Singh Wadala supporting the autonomy resolution said in Jalandhar that it could become the basis for finding a political solution to the complex Kashmir problem.