A new Jammu and Kashmir government will itself work towards safeguarding Article 35A: Omar Abdullah
Former chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Monday said Jammu and Kashmir might find itself in a situation that is worse than what Arunachal Pradesh is presently facing, if the Centre interferes with Article 35 A of the Constitution, which gives special rights and privileges to people in Jammu and Kashmir.
"You keep threatening us with article 35 A. Look at what is happening in Arunachal Pradesh now where there is no militancy. They have interfered with their Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) as we have. See what is now happening there," Mr Abdullah said.
"Hold elections. Let people take the decision. The new government will itself work towards safeguarding Article 35A," he said.
Article 35A disallows people from residing in Jammu and Kashmir, buying or owning immovable property in the state, settle permanently, or get state government jobs.
Violence broke out Arunachal Pradesh's capital Itanagar on Friday during a 48-hour strike against the state's decision to grant permanent resident certificates (PRC) to non-Arunachali citizens.
"Our people are being attacked every day. The scale has gone down a bit. PM Modi should ask Bajrang Dal and others to stop these attacks against Kashmiris," he said.
Addressing a rally in Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, "Our fight is against terrorism, against enemies of humanity, not against Kashmiris... Our fight is for Kashmir, not against Kashmir, not against the Kashmiris."