Dineshwar in Kathua, BJP seeks abrogation of Articles 370, 35-A

Sanjay Pathak

Kathua, July 18

After snapping ties with the Peoples Democratic Party, the BJP has again started raking up the issue of the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A of the Constitution.

During a meeting on Wednesday with Centre’s special representative on J&K Dineshwar Sharma, a delegation of the BJP led by district president Prem Nath Dogra strongly advocated abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, which impart special status to the state.

Dineshwar arrived in Kathua this morning and met over a dozen delegations from a cross-section of society, including members of political parties and social organisations.

After meeting the interlocutor, Dogra said the BJP delegation reiterated its demand for abrogating Article 370. “We have also demanded that Article 35-A, which is the biggest constitutional blunder, should also be removed,” he said, adding that the Article discriminated against women and weaker sections of the state.

“A big conspiracy has been hatched by the Kashmir-centric forces to bring demographic changes in the Jammu region. The government should ensure that such a move should be curbed immediately,” Dogra said.

The BJP delegation complained that the successive state governments were “biased” against the Jammu region over unemployment and development issues.

The delegation told the interlocutor that Kathua had vast tourism potential, as many parts of the district were more beautiful than Kashmir. It demanded that Kathua district should be developed as a tourist destination.

The National Conference (NC) delegation led by district president Ajit Sharma also raised the issue of discrimination against the Jammu province.

The Bar Association delegation met the interlocutor under the leadership of Himanshu Sharma and Rakesh Thakur and pressed for the overall development of Kathua district.

A media delegation raised the problems being faced by journalists of the district.

Dineshwar will be holding similar interactions in Samba tomorrow.