‘Article 35-A not a sacred cow’; BJP on Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks

Expressing shock and surprise over its ally and Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks on the Tricolour, the BJP on Saturday asserted that Article 35(A) of the Constitution was not a sacred cow that cannot be touched.

Expressing shock and surprise over its ally and Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks on the Tricolour, the BJP on Saturday asserted that Article 35(A) of the Constitution, which empowers the state legislature to grant special rights to its “permanent residents”, “was not a sacred cow that cannot be touched”.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti addressing during party's 18th foundation day in Srinagar on Saturday. (PTI Photo)

“We are greatly shocked and surprised by (Mehbooba’s) statement that by challenging Article 35(A), the nationalist forces in the Valley get weakened and that... India will not get a shoulder to carry its national flag in the state,” BJP state spokesperson Virender Gupta said.

He said while BJP stands with the ‘agenda of alliance’, “it’s equally true that Article 35(A) has done more harm to the state than any other provision.”