J&K BJP, first casualty of Modi’s rally in Jammu By Prof. Bhim Singh Much hyped Shri Narendra Modi’s rally held in Jammu with massive participation has proved fatal blow to the very seedling of State Bharatiya Janata Party which was baptized into Janata Party in 1982 under the leadership of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The rally organized with the blessings of the Chief Minister, Shri Modi failed to reach the aspirations of the Dogra land, the people of Jammu Pradesh. Shri Modi failed to address the 63 years agony of the refugees from Pakistan who have been living in J&K without any civil or political rights. Shri Modi forgot even to mention the horror in which over 10 million citizens of India from POK have been residing in the State without settle them till date. He also forgot the plight of over one lac refugees living in the camps since 1965 who were evicted by the Govt. of India from Chhamb & Deva Batala. Shri Modi did not like to embrace the State Govt. and National Conference leaders by breaking up the situation and the tragedy that was meted out to nearly four lacs Kashmiri migrants and nearly 50,000 migrants from Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi and other places of Jammu Pradesh who have not been given relief they were entitled to in spite of Supreme Court direction. Shri Modi must have disappointed the young blood in particular who are the main victims of the discriminatory orders issued by the State Govt. to provide ‘a peanut salary’ on their recruitments in the non-gazetted jobs in government departments. Shri Modi briefed by the well-wishers of Shri Omar Abdullah on Article 370 failed to keep his rapport with his party’s oldest manifesto seeking abrogation of Article 370. Shri Modi even could not manage to speak about the amendment in the Article. Advocating for a debate on Article 370 is the National Conference slogan supported by the Congress and the Communist Parties. Perhaps, Shri Modi did not know that the Parliament of India has abdicated its authority to make any legislation vis-à-vis J&K. Comparing the scope of the law made on the status of ‘permanent residence’ has nothing to do with the scope and authority of Article 370. The law relating to permanent residence is drawn from the Royal Decree of the Maharaja issued in 1927 relating to the State Subjects. Shri Modi has tried to invoke permanent residence law in relation to the females who marry a non-permanent resident without understanding the connectivity of the two laws. It was in 1975 when the then Revenue Minister late Shri Mirza Afzal Beg in his capacity as Revenue Minister issued a rule that the female who shall marry outside the state with a non-permanent resident shall be disentitled to be permanent resident. This would mean that a female in that case shall loose all her civil and political rights. This law was challenged by several females which include Mrs. Rubina Bakshi, daughter of the former Prime Minister of J&K, Shri Bakshi Ghulam Mohd., Mrs. Posh Charak, Mrs. Padma Sachdev, a noted Dogri poet, Mrs. Angmo Shano of Ladakh and several other daughters of permanent state residence. The full bench of the High Court of J&K in 2001 quashed this order of the Govt. as mala fide, discriminatory and ultravires. The Supreme Court did not even hear the matter. A coalition government was formed under the Chief Ministership of Mufti Mohd. Sayeed in November, 2002. This government brought a law to reverse the judgment of the High Court in this matter. The Legislative Assembly of J&K passed this bill by proxy without any discussion and without any advance notice to the legislators. The Legislative Council heard this matter for several days. The government was short of one vote only. Prof. Bhim Singh (this author) refused to support the bill piloted by the government in which his own party (Panthers Party) was a coalition partner. This one vote made the whole difference. Prof. Bhim Singh in his longest debate in the Legislative Council succeeded as the Chairman of the Legislative Council, Mr. Abdul Rashid Dar declared that government was short of one vote as Prof. Bhim Singh has voted against the bill. This was a historic decision of the Panthers Party that opened all the windows of justice and equity for the women of J&K. Since 2002 there is no bar on the females to inherit property as they are issued a permanent resident certificate with marriage or without marriage. Mr. Modi must have been briefed on the wrong side. However, the matter deserved appreciation. On Article 370 has put a ban on the power of the Parliament which can be amended by the Parliament itself within the meaning and scope of Article 368 of the Constitution of India as the Parliament has power to make, change, amend or delete any provision of law except certain provisions relating to basic feature of the Constitution. Article 370 on record is a temporary provision and its extension cannot be justified. Glaring blunder appears on the face of it that temporary provision called Article 370 was inserted in the Constitution of India in 1950 with the soul intention to control the power of the Monarch, Maharaja Hari Singh, whose authority was not abolished by the Constituent Assembly in 1950. Maharaja was allowed to continue as a Monarch with a purpose to please Sheikh Mohd. Abdullah and may be to keep Sheikh Abdullah’s hopes alive that he shall be Sultan of Kashmir after the Maharaja. Article 370 became in fructuous in 1952 when the J&K Constituent Assembly abolished the Monarchy with one line resolution on 20th August. All the powers retained by the Maharaja (since the Accession of J&K to the Union of India in 1947) lapsed the very day when Monarchy was terminated. Article 370 when read even casually expressly states that it shall apply in respect of the government that was constituted by the Maharaja of J&K. It says that no law on J&K shall be applicable to J&K unless approved by the government of J&K constituted by the Maharaja of J&K. It leaves no doubt that it was only to curtail the powers of the Monarch. When Monarch was out, Article 370 became in fructuous. It is unfortunate that BJP has been playing with the sentiments of the nationalist section of the people in the name of Article 370. The BJP, NC and Congress have been playing with the sentiments and the people were not told the inside story about the actual status of Article 370. Shri Modi’s blunder at his Jammu rally has made the people aware about the bonafides of every political party in J&K. The real wonder was that Shri Modi would like to make J&K a super state under the governance of the Kashmiri rulers as he felt Kashmiriyat was far more superior than Indian nationalism. He failed to appreciate the Dogriyat and Ladkhiyat who have no less role in the promotion of national integration than their Kashmiri brethren. The biggest tragedy that Shri Modi did not know that J&K is the only state where no delimitation of the Assemblies and Parliament was held after 2001 census was taken. He does not know the discrimination meted out to the youth, students, employees and the people of Jammu Pradesh by the ruling clique. However, Shri Modi’s visit to Jammu has caused the only casualty and that is of the state unit of BJP. Bhim Singh (Chief Patron, National Panthers Party, Member, National Integration Council & Political Analyst)
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 10:55:55 +0000
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