August 5, 2019
Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants special status
to Jammu and Kashmir, has been removed. Home Minister Amit
Shah announced in Parliament a short while ago that
President Ram Nath Kovind has signed an order that would
come into force “at once”.
The announcement has come after Prime Minister Narendra Modi
held a meeting of his cabinet this morning. Jammu and Kashmir will also be
“reorganised,” said Shah, with the state being bifurcated into two union
territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. There were massive protests by
the Opposition in Parliament and parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted, “A historical
wrong has been undone today. Article 35A came through the back door without
following the procedure under Article 368 of the Constitution of India. It
had to go”.
The Centre has moved 8,000 paramilitary troops from different parts of the
country to Kashmir.
What does the move mean?
There was a massive build-up of troops in the sensitive Kashmir Valley. Last
night senior leaders of the state including former Chief Ministers
Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were
placed under house arrest.
The government of India (GOI)’s unilateral and shocking decisions today are
a total betrayal of the trust that the people of Jammu & Kashmir had
reposed in India when the State acceded to it in 1947. The decisions will
have far-reaching and dangerous consequences. This is an aggression against
people of the State as had been warned by an all-parties meeting in
Srinagar yesterday. – Omar Abdullah said, Former Chief Minister,
Jammu & Kashmir
Internet and phone lines have been forced out of service in parts of Jammu
and Kashmir. Thousands of paramilitary troops have been sent to Kashmir after
the government said it was cancelling the Amarnath Yatra, an
annual pilgrimage, and asked tourists and outsiders to leave the state.
All educational institutions and offices are closed and groups have been
banned from gathering in Kashmir and Jammu.
Source: https://newzhook.com/story/article-370-ends-in-jammu-kashmir-state-to-be-divided
