Article 370 root cause of discrimination with SCs, Valmikis, Gorkhas & women: Balbir

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Making a scathing attack on the leaders of Gupkar Alliance for misleading the people on bringing back Article 370, BJP Jammu and Kashmir, Spokesperson, Balbir Ram Rattan, said that much water has flown through Chenab and Jehlum during the last one year and this Article cannot be brought back. This is a fact which Gupkar Group knows very well but their personal interests are making them to indulge in politics of deceit and lies.
Balbir said that barring a handful of people, majority of the population has welcomed the removal of Article 370 but has disturbed those who had been running their shops by playing emotional card and had accumulated huge wealth and immovable properties worth hundreds of crores of rupees.
“History is witness that Jammu and Kashmir was the only State in India where various sections of the society were deprived of even basic rights and were treated as Second Class Citizens”, Balbir said and added that a glance at the list of beneficiaries after the abrogation of the controversial Article will make it clear that the erstwhile State had been turned into hell for Refugees, Valmikis, Gorkhas, SCs, etc who were deprived of all such rights, which were otherwise enjoyed by their counterparts in other State of India.
The BJP Spokesperson elaborated that West Pakistan Refugees, SCs, Valmkis were the worst sufferers, who were not treated as State Subjects and their wards could not get admissions in professional institutions, nor they could avail the benefits of scholarships, none from among them had the right to purchase and own land. They could not contest elections of Local Bodies, Panchayats, BDCs, DDCs and State Assembly. Similarly, the daughters of Jammu and Kashmir, married to other parts of the country, lost their rights as citizens of the State, which was highly discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Not only this, the STs were not given any political reservation under Article 370 and they had no constitutional platform to raise their voice. Even they were deprived of the rights over the forest land as the centre’s Forest Act 2007 was not implemented under the excuse of 370, which could have benefited this section.