Srinagar, Aug 11: Following her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi amid the row over Article 35 A, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said that the PM response was “very positive” and he “gave 100 percent assurance on Agenda of Alliance”.
“The PM response of Prime Minister was very positive,” Mehbooba told reporters in New Delhi after the meeting.
“The basis of our (PDP-BJP coalition) Agenda of Alliance is to maintain status quo on Article 370 and no fiddling should be done to the article; none of us can go against that. Prime Minister gave 100 percent assurance on Agenda of Alliance.
Giving brief details about the meeting with PM, Mehbooba said she told the PM that people in Jammu and Kashmir feel that their existence and identify is in danger (because of scrapping of Article 35 A).
“I told the Prime Minister difficult situation through which Jammu and Kashmir people were going is improving. People feel that their existence and identify is in danger (because of scrapping of Article 35 A). So the message should go that there is no such thing (attempts to scrap the article) and Jammu and Kashmir is the crown of the country, a Muslim majority state that rejected Two Nation theory, and people should feel that they want to live with the country,” she said.
The chief minister who had flown to New Delhi Thursday met the PM today in Parliament office in the afternoon amid the row over a petition on striking down of Article 35A before a three bench of Supreme Court.
“Being a Muslim majority state, with Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists living in Jammu and Kashmir, it has diversity and special position in the country. The idea of India has to accommodate the idea of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.
“Last year, the situation was difficult but this year it was improving slowly, wounds of people were getting healed. So suddenly the discussion on Article 35 A will have negative consequences on the situation in the state, which should not happen. Jammu and Kashmir is an important part of the country and it is not good if it remain in difficult situation,” she said.
Earlier, this week the chief minister had met Opposition leaders in the state after NC president had warned of a “far bigger agitation than Amarnath land row (of 2008)” and Mehbooba herself had warned of weakening the Article 35 A. (KNS)