Srinagar, Dec 13, TEN Network | The Union Home Ministry has sent a proposal to Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory Law Department for a feedback on granting Article 371 as a compensation for the revocation of Article 370, which granted the erstwhile state special status, sources told.
They said the Law Department has been asked to study the proposal and give the feedback to the Center. “The file is currently in Law Department, where deliberations over the contours of the new arrangement are being held. By mooting the idea of Article 371 for J&K, the Center is trying to draw the contours of post Article 370 Kashmir politics. But the effort is still tentative in nature,” sources revealed.
A group of senior politicians from Kashmir which includes PDP patron and former deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Beig have already given an indication that they were willing to settle for Article 371.
“We are a hill state and the Constitution has provided special provisions under Article 371 for all the hill states with domicile rights like those they enjoyed under Article 35A,” Beigh had last month told KNS.
However, it is unlikely that PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who is undergoing detention since August 5 when Article 370 was revoked, will be willing to settle for this. A senior PDP leader wishing anonymity told KNS that bargaining on Article 371 could be Beig’s personal view and not that of the party.
“Mehbooba ji is in jail and till she is not released along with other leaders, it is pre-mature to comment on such issues,” he said. (KNS)
