Sajad Lone submits resolution for restoration of Art 370 & 35A

Srinagar, Feb 14: Setting the stage for a stormy session of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone has submitted a resolution in the Legislative Assembly secretariat condemning the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A in the strongest terms. The resolution also calls for the restoration of the pre-August 5, 2019 constitutional position of Jammu & Kashmir.

Sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that Lone, who maintains that the resolution brought by the National Conference-led government in the first session of the House was ambiguous and did not clearly reject the August 5, 2019 decisions, has brought a fresh resolution on the issue.

“The resolution brought by Lone calls for condemning all actions of August 5, 2019 in the strongest terms and seeks the restoration of the pre-August 5, 2019 constitutional position,” they said, adding that the resolution has been submitted in the Legislative Assembly secretariat.

In the last assembly session, the National Conference-led government had brought a “mild-worded” resolution on the issue of special status. “This Legislative Assembly reaffirms the importance of the special status and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture, and rights of the people of J&K, and expresses concern over their unilateral removal,” the NC-led resolution read.

It further stated that the assembly “emphasizes that any process for restoration must safeguard both national unity and the legitimate aspirations of the people of J&K.”

While all Kashmir-based opposition parties, including PDP and PC, had accused NC of bringing a “watered-down” resolution on the issue, the Congress had said that the resolution only seeks the restoration of statehood and doesn’t call for the reinstatement of Article 370.