BJP State Spokesperson Prof. Virender Gupta in a statement said that a time has come when people of Jammu & Kashmir should say goodbye to Article 370 and ask Govt. of India to revoke Article 35A. He further said that both these articles instead of being beneficial to the people of the state, have done great damage and hamper the progress and development of the state. The prevailing situation in the valley shows that Article 370 has created a separatist psyche and acts as breeding ground for separatist emotion. The Article is responsible for keeping settled issue of Jammu & Kashmir alive, motivated and encouraged the separatists and the external forces to interfere in the internal matters of Indian Union and challenge the integrity of the country. It sends signal both to terrorists and Pakistan that full integration of Jammu & Kashmir with India can be prevented and provoked the separatists to demand for an independent state.
Prof. Virender said that Article 370 has resulted in more and more alienation of the people of valley from India and in taking them away from the national mainstream. He added that the Kashmiri leadership for its own vested political interests always remained in the game of competitiveness to exploit the people in the name of Article 370.
The Spokesperson said that in spite of large scale funding from the Govt. of India, Jammu and Kashmir could not develop its sustainable economy and remained an under developed and backward state in many fields. The outside industrialists and business houses hesitate to open industries and other business ventures in the state and as a result the state is facing the crisis of unemployment and migration of skilled and talented youth to rest of the country. The academicians and experts in other fields from rest of the country are discouraged because of the article to contribute in the educational (technical and non-technical) growth of the state. The Spokesperson added that the Article 370 is also responsible for widening the mistrust and alienation between the people of the valley and those of Jammu and Ladakh regions.
Prof. Virender Gupta also called upon the people of Jammu & Kashmir to also look into the utility of Article 35A which is most discriminatory that differentiate between the man and woman in the matter of his/her rights as citizen of the state.
