Fiddling with Art 370 will be assault on idea of India: Mufti

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 7

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said Kashmir’s accession to India had strengthened the secular credentials of the country and any attempt at dismantling the special status of Jammu and Kashmir would be an assault on the very idea of India.

Mufti said this while addressing election rallies in the Chrar-e-Sharief, Budgam and Chadoora Assembly constituencies of central Kashmir’s Budgam district, where campaigning ended today.

Mufti said Jammu and Kashmir was at a defining moment of its history and the ongoing Assembly elections could pave the way for the resolution of the Kashmir issue and stable peace in the region, if the people gave a decisive mandate to the PDP.

Mufti said some forces in the country considered J&K as the last frontier to be conquered, whether it was for ideological reasons or simple power politics.

He, however, cautioned that any attempt to fiddle with the state’s pluralistic composition and distinct identity was fraught with dangerous consequences.

“J&K, as the only Muslim majority state of the country, is an asset that stands India out among the modern nation states and those who target its identity are not doing any service either to the country or to the state,” he said.

Mufti said people of all regions of the state were reposing their faith in the PDP, not just as a political alternative but also connecting with it as a platform for change and channeling their collective aspirations.

He said no doubt that there was a divergence of aspirations in the state but the need for peace in the region was shared by all and so was the “urge for growth, development and generation of employment for our children”.

“We will ensure that the identity of the state is protected, peace process is revived and inclusive development agenda is put into practice to take the state out of political uncertainty and economic backwardness.”