Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar terms Article 370 ‘Nasoor’, says never thought it will go away

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, January 4

Terming the now abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution as ‘Nasoor’ (sore spot), Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said that he had never thought that the provision will ever go away.

“That provision (Article 370) of the Constitution of India which was temporary had become a sore spot for us. What a good day today that that provision is not there in the law of the country” said Dhankhar.

Addressing the inauguration of the Biotech Startup Expo on “Emerging Startup Trends in North India” in Kathua district, the Vice President said that Article 370 and 35 A were “obstacles to democratic governance”.

The Vice President noted that sections of society in Jammu and Kashmir who had earlier been denied their rights and benefits under government schemes, now have a greater voice in governance and are witness to a transformed scenario.

“With Article 370 no longer being part of the Constitution, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee's dream has been translated into reality” he said.

Dhankhar drew attention to the opportunities that have opened up for the women of Jammu and Kashmir, with the availability of property rights following abrogation of Article 370, in addition to the rights conferred by the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’.

“Abrogation of Article 370 and the enabling initiatives taken by the government in J&K have resulted in development being completely delinked from partisan interests”, said the Vice President. Recognising that every individual has a right to participate in politics, the Vice President cautioned that politics must not be allowed to become a deterrent to progress.

Central government had made an announcement on August 5, 2019 regarding abrogation of Article 370 after which the opposition parties in J-K had been contesting the decision.

However, last month, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the decision of the Union Government to repeal the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Expressing his appreciation for the nation’s progress in the domain of biotechnology, the Vice President made special mention of India’s position as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, having a greater number of unicorns than China.

Highlighting the extent of India’s internet penetration and its great number of digital transactions, he also emphasised upon the importance of nurturing a robust research ecosystem for the progress of the country.

In his address, Dhankhar also congratulated the graduating students and awardees of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu, whose 8th convocation ceremony he was scheduled to attend earlier in the day.

He conveyed his regrets for his inability to attend the event owing to adverse weather conditions. The flight had to be rerouted through Pathankot prior to the event in Kathua, owing to the deteriorating weather situation.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh who was also present during the event said “it is imperative that we focus on the sustainability and scale up of the innovators and enterprises and continue to provide an enabling ecosystem to ensure that we can create a national and global impact”.

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