National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, the father of Omar Abdullah said on Friday that PM Narendra Modi cannot remove article 35-A and article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and instead should make efforts to unite the people of the nation instead of dividing them.
He called for the protection of the two articles claiming that it is very important for them. “We are soldiers of this country not enemies of this nation," he said.
Article 370 grants special status to J&K while limiting the Parliament's power to make laws concerning the state. Meanwhile, Article 35A empowers the state assembly to define 'permanent residents' for bestowing special rights and privileges on them.
The Party president urged Modi to connect the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country through rail network.
He said that his party will provide autonomy to all the three regions of Ladakh, Kashmir, and Jammu after it wins the assembly polls.
Abdullah defeated Aga Syed Mohsin of the PDP in the Srinagar constituency. This will be his fourth term in the Lok Sabha, having been a member in 1980, 2009 and 2017 previously.
He also appreciated Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for continuing with his agenda of unity and diversity. He said, "Winning and losing is a part of life. Rahul Gandhi after five years will make a comeback and I don't think that people of Amethi will forget him. I think he (Rahul) will sit down and introspect as to why this happened and how to ensure Congress becomes stronger.”
Regarding relations with the neighbouring country, Pakistan, Abdullah said that if the PM wishes to save the nation, he needs to be in friendly terms with its neighbours.