Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Sunday lashed out at Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti over her demand for Article 370 to the people of the state, stating that the latter needs to go back to school and learn some law.
Swamy's statement comes a day after Mehbooba Mufti said that Article 370 of the Constitution, which guarantees special status to the state, is the nation's commitment to the people of J-K and should be honoured.
Speaking to ANI, Swamy said, "I urge that Article 370 is totally become irrelevant and has been used one sided because more than 5,000 Kashmire pandits have been driven out of the state and not being allowed to return back. So why does Mehbooba Mufti want 370?...is it for the protection of Muslims and not Hindus. Mufti needs to go back to school and learn some law".
"As far as Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly is concerned, the Centre has finished their work and given a Kashmir constitution in which the first line is- 'Kashmir is an integral part of India' so where is 370..there is no mention of 370 in the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution. Also in the Indian Constitution it's only mentioned as a temporary provision so where is the guaranteed of the people," he said.
Mehbooba Mufti also said that dialogue is the only way forward to resolve the Kashmir issue and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has a huge mandate, can create history by changing the narrative on Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief took to Twitter saying "Article 370 is the nation's commitment to the people of J-K and therefore should be honoured," (sic). (ANI)