Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and NC Vice-President Omar Abdullah on Tuesday welcomed Supreme Court's decision to finally hear the petitions challenging the Centre's abrogation of Article 370 which have special status to the erstwhile J&K state. A constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday said that it will hear the case on a daily basis from Aug. 2.
Omar while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a blood donating event, said, "Jammu and Kashmir's People are expecting justice from the Supreme Court,” while replying to a question over the matter. “The case of Article 370 is strong and the Supreme Court should hear it soon so that the people of Jammu and Kashmir can get justice,” he said.
Also read:Article 370 abrogation: SC to hear daily from Aug 2; allows withdrawal of Shah Faesal, Shehla Rashid petitions
Omar Abdullah said that “the way the BJP government flouted the Constitution and the law while abrogating Article 370, the Supreme Court should hear the matter from the same angle”. He said that the arguments presented by the BJP government in the affidavit are “not a legal debate but the debate is whether the abrogation of Article 370 is unconstitutional and illegal or not”.
Omar Abdullah further said that “presenting the arguments of peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir by the abrogation of Article 370 in the court is actually an attempt to cover up the reality”. Omar said that before armed militancy erupted in Kashmir in the late 1990s, the situation was peaceful. The petitions challenging the BJP government's move were filed four years ago after the Centre abrogated Article 370 which gave special status to erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, on August 5, 2019.
Last month the Supreme Court had scheduled its hearing today on July 11. The BJP government at the Centre submitted an affidavit in the court in the case on Monday, claiming that scrapping the special status has brought unprecedented peace in the region.
