The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP Monday said if the Supreme Court upholds the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution, which provides special privileges to the trouble-torn state, the Centre will repeal the provision through a presidential order. “Article 35A is currently before the Supreme Court and we will wait till the matter is disposed off. If the Supreme Court rules that the Presidential ordinance (of 1954) was wrong, then the matter ends. If the Supreme Court rules that the Presidential ordinance was right, then we will repeal it by bringing a presidential ordinance,” BJP state spokesman Ashwini Kumar Chrungoo told reporters here. He said Article 35A was a “fraud” not only with the Constitution of the country but the Parliament as well. “This provision was brought in surreptitiously. We will repeal it as it is our promise to the nation,” he added. Chrungoo said the priority of the BJP was restoration of peace in Kashmir for which it will take all steps needed. “For bring peace back to Kashmir, elimination of the terrorists is necessary. And anyone who supports terrorists will have to face the law,” he said. Chrungoo lashed out at state government, which is currently headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik, for the bad condition of roads in the valley. “So much money has come to Kashmir but what is the condition of the roads here. This puts a bad impression on tourists as well as the locals,” he said.
