By IANS,
Jammu : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday challenged Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to a debate on whether Article 370 of the constitution that grants special status to the state had done it any good or harm.
“Omar Abdullah is welcome to have a debate whether the Article 370 has benefited the state or caused damage to it,” BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said at an election rally here.
The BJP, in its poll manifesto, said it remained firm on abrogating Article 370 of the constitution which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, India’s only Muslim majority state.
The article enables the state have its own constitution and flag. It also bars outsiders from government jobs, buying immovable property or voting.
Abdullah has said that no party can alter the provision of the Article 370, leave alone scrapping it.
“Omar Abdullah says that no party can touch Article 370. Let him have a look at the constitutional provision which says that it is temporary and transient,” Jaitley said.
He also pointed out that India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had said the article would gradually get erased over time.