"Can't Pretend It's Just Another Monday Morning": Anand Mahindra On J&K

Industrialist Anand Mahindra today weighed in on the government's move to remove Article 370, which confers special status, from Jammu and Kashmir. The announcement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting of his cabinet at his house this morning.

"Cannot pretend this is just another Monday morning. The entire country is waiting to exhale over Kashmir. Can only pray for the safety of everyone there & for an outcome that makes the nation stronger & the future more positive," the chairman of the Mahindra Group tweeted this morning.

Jammu and Kashmir will also be "reorganised," said Home Minister Amit Shah, with the state being bifurcated into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir on the one hand and Ladakh on the other.

A massive troop deployment in Jammu and Kashmir and the house arrest of state politicians have sent tension rising in the state.

Cannot pretend this is just another Monday morning. The entire country is waiting to exhale over Kashmir. Can only pray for the safety of everyone there & for an outcome that makes the nation stronger & the future more positive.

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) August 5, 2019

Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and People's Conference's Sajad Lone - the three most prominent politicians from Jammu and Kashmir - were placed under house arrest late on Sunday.

Actor Anupam Kher, an ardent supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tweeted saying "Kashmir Solution has begun."

Former Union Minister P Chidambaram today criticised the government over the house arrest of the politicians. "I had warned of a misadventure in J&K. It seems the government is determined to embark upon one. The house arrest of J&K leaders is a signal that the government will defy all democratic norms and principles to achieve its objects. I condemn the house arrests," Mr Chidambaram tweeted.

Tension in Jammu and Kashmir spiked on Friday with the state administration scrapping the Amarnath Yatra and asking pilgrims and tourists to leave the valley at the earliest. The order made anxious residents throng markets to stock on essentials and serpentine queues have been visible outside shops and fuel stations.

The centre has rushed some 35,000 paramilitary forces to the state.