"J-K politicians sidelined after 2019": JKPC chairman Sajad Gani Lone on Article 370

New Delhi, Sep 10: Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference (JKPC) chairman Sajad Gani Lone said on Tuesday that all the politicians of Jammu and Kashmir were brushed aside after the abrogation of Article 370.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, he said, "We do not matter. Well, post-2019, no Jammu and Kashmir politician has actually mattered. They have been put on the sidelines. It is a total bureaucracy. There is an administration bereft of any politicians. Remotely, no person elected by the people is anywhere there."

"You won't believe it. Even for normal functions like Republic Day functions and Independence Day functions, they don't invite politicians anymore. So there is literally political apartheid for the last, what, five years. For all political parties. It's not specifically for one political party," he said.

He stated that the BJP-ruled Centre's decision to relegate the status of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories was the worst type of humiliation and he felt very bad about it.

"I actually, you know, believe that they should not have removed Article 370. I believe they should not have removed Article 35A. And the worst type of humiliation was relegating one of the most powerful states in India, an economically and politically empowered state in India, to a UT. And I feel very bad about it. As an inhabitant of this erstwhile state of J&K, I feel very bad," Lone said.

He further said that when Article 370 was abrogated, they were the first party to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court while being in jail.

"I was in jail like all others when Article 370 was abrogated. From the jail, we were the first party to go and file a case in the court; you know, challenge it in the Supreme Court," Lone added.

In August 2019, the government of India abrogated Article 370, effectively ending Jammu and Kashmir J&K's special status and reorganising into two Union Territories (UTs) -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1.

There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs.

According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors. These are the first assembly elections to be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.