KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Former Union Minister and Patron J&K Peoples’ Empowerment Mission, Prof Saifuddin Soz, Friday said that he had imagined that the Supreme Court would not take notice of petition seeking scrapping of Article 35A of the Constitution of India “as it was a political issue settled long ago”.
In a statement, Soz said: “I had imagined that the Supreme Court of India would not take serious notice of the petition of the so-called J&K Study Centre-. the RSS think-tank, seeking scrapping of Article 35-A of the Constitution of India which authorizes the J&K Legislature to enact laws to confer Special Rights or privileges or impose restrictions with respect to Employment, Acquisition of Immovable Property in the State, Settlement in the State and Right to Scholarship etc”.
As per Article 35A, such legislation shall be valid not withstanding that it is inconsistent with the Fundamental Rights conferred by the Constitution of India upon the other citizens of India.
“I had imagined that the Supreme Court would not take notice of this petition as it was a political issue settled long ago. Now that the Supreme Court has issued the notice to J&K Govt., I consider it necessary to ask the J&K Govt. not to be complacent and fight the issue in the Supreme Court with all seriousness,” he said.
Soz added: “I want also to ask the J&K Govt. not to indulge in any kind of politics on this issue and tackle the issue as a serious legal proposition. Simultaneously, I would expect that the people of Kashmir, particularly mainstream parties, rise to the occasion in appreciating the implications of the RSS’s obnoxiously sectarian and communal designs viz-a-viz J&K State. It is a very crucial political question and it has to be tackled politically in a democratic and constitutional way.
“I would also like to take the position in full support of AG Noorani that Parliament of India has no Legislative Competence to make laws in respect of J&K State subjects/citizens as defined by law and under Section-6 of the Constitution of J&K in respect of their immovable properties. I also take the position as a citizen that this move before the Supreme Court proves sufficiently the evil designs of the RSS aimed at demographic transformation in J&K State. Fortunately, the people Ladakh and Jammu regions also realize the significance of Article 370, particularly in its application to State Subject Rights.
A heartening situation around this critical time is that we have a brilliant advocate in AG Noorani who has already been accepted as an authority on this and other issues related particularly to application of constitutional provisions, to J&K State.
All right thinking people will agree with Noorani that Article 370 recognizes the Sovereignty of J&K’s Constituent Assembly as the ultimate Ratificatory Authority.”
