BJP State Spokesperson Prof. Virender Gupta rebuffed the statement of Provincial President National Conference Devender Singh Rana justifying Article 35A while roping in the name of Maharaja Hari Singh said that National Conference and its leaders who humiliated the Maharaja and forced him to leave the state that built and integrated by the Dogra Rulers is merely an hypocrisy. He said that Maharaja Hari Singh formulated the State Subject law in 1927 to check the migration of people from rest of India and their settlement in J&K State not only to preserve the identity of Dogra but of Kashmir, Ladakh and Gilgit and Baltistan and added that Maharaja was sovereign ruler with J&K as sovereign country. Prof. Gupta explained that when J&K acceded to Indian Union it lost its sovereignty and became integral part of India and the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir state or any Article/Clause introduced in the Indian constitution should be in consonance with the fundament rights enshrined in Indian constitution and should not violate in any way Human Rights, recognized by the international community.
Prof. Gupta asked Rana that how he can justify the act of depriving the 1947 West Pakistan Refugees and the safai Karamcharis who were invited by State government for the sanitation work in 1957 for the permanent resident certificate. “Is it not violation of their fundamental and human right”, he further asked. Removal of Article 35A in no way challenges the identity of Jammu & Kashmir and Jammu province (the Duggar Land). Infact, Jammu region is facing a great challenge to its identity and its rights from the valley and the Kashmiri leadership. The demography and identity of Jammu province is constantly being changed under the political hegemony of Kashmiri leadership which strategically trying to diminish it identity. During the last 70 years mostly under the NC rule people of Jammu region have suffered a worst kind of discrimination. The NC who has always been standing with the separatists and is responsible for the present situation in the valley and in the rest of the state cannot teach any lesson to people of Jammu region, those who always defended the cause of India in this part of the country. The opportunist people like Rana, who are supporting the separatist policies of the party for their own vested interests should stop misleading the people of Dogra land and divide the Dogra community. He said that case of Rohingyas or Bangladeshi has nothing to do with Article 35A, they are illegal migrants in the country. The previous governments including those of NC and Congress were responsible for their settlement in Jammu, Samba districts and in Ladakh. The previous governments facilitated their settlement while providing them ration card, permanent citizen certificate and Adhar Card etc. He said that it does not go well with a person like Devender Singh Rana who is a member of party which has inflicted great injustice to the people of Jammu region to talk about the discrimination being meted to them.
