“No Option But To Abolish Article 370, 35A If Someone Talks About Separate PM For J&K”: Rajnath Singh

Home minister Rajnath Singh on Monday (8 April) said that the government will be left with “no option” other than abolishing Article 370 and Article 35A if “someone” proposes a separate Prime Minister for Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), reports NDTV.

“If someone talks about a separate Prime Minister for Jammu and Kashmir, we will have no option other than to abolish Article 370 and Article 35A," said Singh.

This retort from the home minister comes only days after National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah promised at an election rally that he would work hard towards restoring autonomy for J&K so that the state can have a separate Sadar-e-Riyasat (President) and Wazir-e-Azam (Prime Minister).

“That time, we had bargained for our 'Sadar-e-Riyasat' aur 'Wazir-e-Azam' (posts equivalent to the President and Prime Minister, and God willing, our party will bring it back," he had said, adding that unlike other states, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) had negotiated the terms and conditions of its accession with the Union of India.

As part of its manifesto released yesterday (8 April), the BJP has promised to abrogate Article 370 and 35A which provide a special status to J&K within the Indian Union.

Will Give A Befitting Reply

In his speech, Rajnath Singh also reiterated BJP’s promise on national security. "If someone takes up arms against us, we will go to whatever extent required to give them a befitting reply," he noted.

Also Read: Farooq Abdullah Swears By Allah To Separate Kashmir From India If Article 370 Is Abolished