Modi lacks constitutional knowledge, he should have cared to read Article 370: PDP

Jammu: Slamming Narendra Modi over his demand for a debate on Article 370, People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday said the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate lacks constitutional knowledge and his remarks can create fissures in Jammu and Kashmir.

PDP patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said Article 370 providing special status to Jammu and Kashmir has gained a permanent status after the constitutional assembly of the state approved it and can not be scrapped.

"Article 370 is permanent and can not be scrapped. Even Parliament is not constitutionally mandated to review or scrap it," Sayeed said here.

"We express concern at the serious gaps in the constitutional knowledge (with regard to Article 370) of BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate," he said.

Modi seeks debate on special status for Jammu and Kashmir

The PDP patron said that Modi's comments can create fissures within the state besides increasing trust deficit between the state and rest of the country. "If Modi aspires for the top job of a country as diverse as India he will have to rise above prejudices, perceptions, propaganda and work for uniting people rather than dividing them," he said.

"His raking up of Article 370 is a very disturbing indicator of his approach to sensitivities of the people of Jammu and Kashmir who acceded to India in pursuit of some dreams which still elude them and constitutional guarantees that can neither be withdrawn nor wished away," the PDP patron said.

"One had expected the prime ministerial candidate hopeful to steer clear of the divisive issues and follow Atal Bihari Vajpayee in building bridges rather than sparking off controversies that have no relevance except trying to reap votes at the cost of national interest," he said.

He said that Modi's remarks on Article 370 is nothing more than 'electoral rhetoric'.

"Even the Article 1 of the constitution of India determining the territory of the country applies to J&K by virtue of Article 370 only. Scrap this bridge with rest of the country and the entire gamut of accession and related issues stare in your face," Sayeed said.

Another PDP leader Naeem Akhtar said that Modi should have cared to read Article 370 carefully before making its removal a part of his party's agenda. He added that the removal of Article 370 from the Constitution can only be done with the consent of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, which does not exist.

"Article 370 is a permanent article of India, and Mr Modi, or anybody cannot change it without changing the fundamentals of the relations between Jammu and Kashmir and the country. Because, it is through article 370 that article 1 which determines the territories of this country, applies to Jammu and Kashmir. If Mr. Modi would have cared to read the article fully, he would have known," said Akhtar.

"It has been his party's agenda to scrap Article 370 but it can never happen. It is against the Constitution of India," he added.

On Modi's remarks that women had not been given equal rights in the state unlike in other parts of the country, Sayeed said, "It is factually incorrect to say that women of Jammu and Kashmir do not enjoy equal rights. Any woman of the state who marries outside does not lose her inheritance rights".