Dr. Ambedkar had observed that Art. 370 shall die with the termination of J&K Constituent Assembly

5 Dariya News (Anubhav Suri)

Jammu 05-Dec-2013

Expressing strong condemnation of the statement of J&K Chief Minister, Mr. Omar Abdullah that, “The only way to abrogate it is by recalling the Constituent Jammu and Kashmir Assembly where the question of state’s accession with India can again be reopened.” Saying that Omar Abdullah has crossed the limits and the constitutional boundaries he is obliged to maintain after having taken an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India while assuming the office of a Chief Minister in the state.Prof. Bhim Singh felt that criminal silence maintained by the echelons of power in Delhi on the anti-national outburst of J&K Chief Minister shall be highly dangerous to the security of the state and the integrity of India. I wonder if there is any leader in the Central government and any other national leader who dare question Mr. Omar Abdullah on his highly provocative and anti-national remarks. The Central leadership kept quiet when Mr. Omar Abdullah challenged the very legality of the accession of J&K with the Union of India. The Central leadership kept quiet when he proclaimed on the floor of the House that J&K never merged with the Union of India. NPP Supremo expressed surprise and told Mr. Omar Abdullah to study the history of accession of J&K and the agreement he signed with Mr. Parathasarthy, representative of Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India in 1975. After this agreement all chapters on State-Centre Relations were closed. Sheikh Abdullah became Chief Minister and his son Farooq Abdullah succeeded his father in 1982.

Article 370 was plugged in the Constitution of India as a temporary provision. The reason to bring in Article 370 was to curtail the powers of Maharaja Hari Singh who still was recognized by the Constituent Assembly as the Monarch. Why this different kind of jurisprudence was allowed to exist vis-à-vis Jammu and Kashmir when all other states (nearly 556 of them) had signed a similar kind of Instrument of Accession. This was most intriguing, which Prof. Bhim Singh has pointed out in his book as one of the unforgivable blunders of the Constituent Assembly. According to Article 370 the power to legislate in respect of J&K has been vested in the President of India. The ridder that scuttles the whole proposition is a threat to the integrity of the country. The President of India was empowered to extend the application of the provisions of the Constitution of India to J&K by a Presidential Order issued by him (but) in concurrence with the State government of J&K constituted by the Maharaja. The Parliament of India has been disarmed to make any law vis-à-vis J&K. There are two essential ingredients which deserved special attention of the students of law. First that the President would need the concurrence of the government of J&K constituted by the Maharaja. Secondly in case any amendment to be made in any provision of Article 370, it would require recommendation (recommendation) of the Constituent Assembly of J&K. This would make explicitly cleared that the provisions inserted in Article 370 were applicable only during the existence of the J&K Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved with the introduction of J&K Constitution on 26th January, 1957. Mr. Omar Abdullah has stunned every political thinker and student of law by harping on the issue saying if Article 370 could only be abrogated by the Constituent Assembly of J&K. This shows his knowledge about a provision in the Constitution of India and the power of the so-called Constituent Assembly of J&K.Prof. Bhim Singh while rebutting the statement of Mr. Omar Abdullah has advised him to seek legal opinion on his statement whether any provision in the Constitution of India can be amended by a State Legislature. Can the tale wag the dog? Prof. Bhim Singh who is Barrister-at-Law and a Post Graduate in Law from London University and a Sr. Advocate in the Supreme Court of India observed that it is Parliament alone under Article 368 which has absolute power to amend any provision of the Constitution of India. Under Section 3 of J&K Constitution read with Article 1 of the Constitution of India, J&K (entire J&K) including POK, Gilgit-Baltistan is integral part of the Indian Union. This is the established stand of the Parliament of India which was notified to the whole world by the Parliament in its resolution in 1994 under the leadership of the then Prime Minister of India, Shri Narasimha Rao. Prof. Bhim Singh had taken this stand with superb support of the people of India that Article 370 needs to be amended so as to empower the Parliament to legislate in respect of J&K. The reorganization of J&K is the only way to resolve inter-provincial conflicts within J&K so that all the three regions of the state namely, Ladakh, Kashmir Valley and Jammu Pradesh shall enjoy equal legislative, administrative and financial rights.Prof. Bhim Singh has given a call to all the state leaders to meet in the first week of January, 2014 in Srinagar or in Jammu to work out a joint strategy to oppose, expose and depose the corrupt, criminal and anti-national political parties like National Conference.