SRINAGAR: As the Supreme Court upheld the Union Governmentโs decision to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and President of Jammu and Kashmir Peopleโs Democratic Party (JKPDP), Mehbooba Mufti, said that the people of J&K are not going to lose hope or give up.
โOur fight for honour and dignity will continue regardless. This isnโt the end of the road for us,โ she said. She continued, โWe should not be disheartened. J&K has seen several ups and downs. SCโs verdict stating Article 370 was a temporary provision, is not our defeat, but the defeat of the idea of India.โ
โI want to say this to the people of the country that many of you are celebrating this (verdict). Today, J&K was converted into a jail, and all the shopkeepers were directed that they would not open their shops before 10 am. We were under house arrest. This is a political war which has been going on for ages, and a lot of people have sacrificed their lives for this. We will not leave this, we have to come together and fight,โ the PDP chief added.
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Weighing in on the SC ruling on Article 370, National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi said, โ.The question of J&K being divided into two parts and downgraded from a state to a Union Territory (UT) has not been addressed. Our senior lawyers will review this judgment and see what weโve to do.โ
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also said he is โdisappointedโ by the Supreme Courtโs judgment on the viability of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Consitution, however, he is โnot disheartened. โIt took the BJP decades to reach here. We are also prepared for the long haul,โ the former chief minister of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir wrote on X.
