Indian Punjab's Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has termed the revocation of Article 370 as “totally unconstitutional”, criticising the manner in which New Delhi acted, Indian media reported.
“The Constitution of India has been rewritten without following any legal provisions. Such a historic decision should not have been taken and pushed through in this arbitrary manner,” he said in a statement.
“This will set a bad precedent as it would mean that the Centre could reorganise any state in the country by simply imposing President’s rule,” ThePrint.in quoted Singh as saying.
Singh also prohibited any kind of celebrations or protests in the state on the grounds that that may create disharmony.
Singh said no effort was made to evolve consensus on this matter, adding that given the sensitivity of the issue, any decision should have been taken after following due process.
He said the Presidential order had effectively bypassed the parliamentary requirement for a two-thirds majority through a constitutional amendment.
He further said that none of the stakeholders were taken into confidence, and there was no discussion with other political parties preceding New Delhi's unilateral decision.
MEHBOOBA MUFTI & Omar ABDULLAH
Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah on Monday condemned Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) revocation of the special constitutional status of occupied Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution of India. Both were detained at their homes
The article gave Kashmir its own constitution and decision-making rights for all matters except for defence, communications and foreign affairs.
The law also forbade Indians outside the state from permanently settling, buying land, holding local government jobs and securing education scholarships.
Critics of India's Hindu nationalist-led government see the move as a bid to dilute the demographics of Muslim-majority Kashmir with Hindu settlers.
'Today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy'
President of the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party and former chief minister of IoK Mehbooba Mufti, who was placed under house arrest along with former IoK chief minister Omar Abdullah, tweeted condemning New Delhi's move.
"Today marks the darkest day in Indian democracy. Decision of Jammu and Kashmir leadership to reject two nation theory in 1947 & align with India has backfired. Unilateral decision of Government of India to scrap Article 370 is illegal & unconstitutional which will make India an occupational force in J&K," she said in first of many tweets.
"It will have catastrophic consequences for the subcontinent. Government of India's intentions are clear. They want the territory of J&K by terrorising it’s people. India has failed Kashmir in keeping its promises.
"Already under house arrest & not allowed to have visitors either. Not sure how long I’ll be able to communicate. Is this the India we acceded to?
"GOIs intention is clear & sinister. They want to change demography of the only Muslim majority state in India, disempower Muslims to the extent where they become second class citizens in their own state.
"The way some sections of media & civil society are celebrating these developments with glee is disgusting & disconcerting.
'A long and tough battle lies ahead'
Omar Abdullah, Vice-President of National Conference and former chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir, also issued a statement on the matter.
"Government of India's unilateral and shocking decisions today are a total betrayal of the trust that the people of Jammu & Kashmir had reposed in India when the State acceded to it in 1947 — the decisions will have far-reaching and dangerous consequences.
"This is an aggression against people of the State as had been warned by an all-parties meeting in Srinagar yesterday.
"GOI has resorted to deceit and stealth in recent weeks to lay the ground for these disastrous decisions. Our darkest apprehensions have unfortunately come true after the GOI and it's representatives in Jammu and Kashmir lied to us that nothing major was planned.
"The announcement was made after the entire State, particularly the Kashmir Valley, was turned into a garrison. Those of us who gave democratic voice to the people of Jammu & Kashmir, are incarcerated as thousands of armed security personnel have been put on the ground.
"The scrapping of Articles 370 and 35A raise fundamental questions on the state's accession because that was done on the very terms enunciated in these Articles.
"The decisions are unilateral, illegal and unconstitutional and will be challenged as such by the National Conference . A long and tough battle lies ahead. We are ready for that."
Escalating tension
Regional parties in occupied Kashmir have been calling attempts to revoke Article 370 an aggression against the people.
The law dates to 1927, when an order by the administration of the-then princely state of Kashmir gave the state's subjects exclusive hereditary rights. Two months after India won independence from British rule in August 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Kashmir, signed a Treaty of Accession for the state to join the rest of the union, formalised in Article 370 of the Indian constitution. Further discussions culminated in the 1952 Delhi Agreement, a presidential order that extended Indian citizenship to the residents of the state but left the maharaja's privileges for residents intact.
Late Sunday in Kashmir, government forces laid steel barricades and razor wire on roads and intersections to cut off neighborhoods in Srinagar. The government issued a security order banning public meetings, rallies and movement and said schools would be closed.
Authorities also suspended internet services on cellphones, a common tactic to prevent anti-India demonstrations from being organised and to stop the dissemination of news.
Today's measure will impact about 7 million people living in the region.
The security deployment in recent days adds at least 10,000 soldiers and other forces in Kashmir, to what was already one of the world's most militarised regions.
India had also ordered thousands of tourists and Hindu pilgrims to leave the region.
“The BJP is using its brute majority to bulldoze democratic and constitutional norms," Singh said.
According to ThePrint.in's report, Singh has increased security for the around 8,000 Kashmiri students in Punjab and has directed government officials to meet them and talk to them personally.
MAHATHIR
Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday said India’s illegal move over the status of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoK) would deteriorate the peace and security of the region and further undermine the relations between the two neighbors with strategic capabilities.
The prime minister made a telephonic call to Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad to apprise him of the recent developments in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, PM office media wing in a press release said.
The prime minister told him that India’s announcement regarding the status of the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir was in clear violation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
Prime Minister Mahathir said Malaysia was closely monitoring the situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and would remain in touch.
He said he was also looking forward to meeting the prime minister on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York.
ERDOGAN
Prime Minister Imran Khan, as part of outreach to world leaders on the recent developments in Indian Occupied Kashmir, called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday.
The Prime Minister said that India’s illegal actions to modify the special status of the Indian Occupied Kashmir would have serious implications for the regional peace and security.
He reiterated that Pakistan would continue its diplomatic, moral and political support to the just cause of Kashmiri struggle for their right of self-determination, as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
President Erdogan shared the concerns on the developing situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and assured of Turkey’s steadfast support in this regard.
