article 35a

Jammu and Kashmir's assembly disallowed People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone's resolutions on restoring Article 370 and returning detainees, citing law and order constraints. Lone criticized the rejection as a restriction on free expression and took a swipe at the National Conference's vague resolution for restoring special status. He emphasized the importance of expressing opinions and representing the people's will.

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The Jammu and Kashmir state BJP chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi said over the last few days, the political climate in the state has heated up over article 35a and some political parties, especially those active in Kashmir, have taken an "anti-national and anti-people" stand on the issue.

article 35a, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the Jammu and Kashmir citizens and denies property rights to a woman who marries a person from outside the state.

A three-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court (SC) will hear a legal challenge today regarding constitutional validity of article 35a which bars non-residents of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) from purchasing land in the state. Similar hearings have been adjourned twice this month.

Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah met the Governor S P Malik on Saturday. Following the meeting, Abdullah at a presser said that the Governor has assured his party that no moves are planned on repealing Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution, or the state's trifurcation. The NC leader also asked for assurance on these issues from the Centre in Parliament on Monday.

Mehbooba Mufti met the Governor at the Raj Bhavan and briefed him about her party's views and the discussions she had had with leaders of various political parties regarding the challenge to article 35a, an official spokesman said.

Addressing a function here to celebrate the Peoples Democratic Party's 20th raising day, Mufti asked her party workers to get ready for a big fight for the protection of article 35a, which gives special rights and privileges to the state's permanent residents.

Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), consisting of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, had on August 17 called for a two-day strike from August 26, but the strike has now been deferred to the end of the month. article 35a empowers the Jammu and Kashmir assembly to define "permanent residents" for bestowing special rights and privileges to them.

Highlighting that the provision acts as a"bridge" between the state and the rest of India, Abhijeet Jasrotia said the PDP, whether in power or opposition, had always worked to safeguard Articles 370 and 35A. He said the residents of Jammu region especially the Dogras were mature enough to understand the threat to their next generation if the act was revoked.