BJP has kept Article 370 issue aside for time being: J&K minister Nirmal Singh

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has kept aside the issue of abrogation of theArticle 370because of the compulsions of coalition politics, Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief ministerNirmal Singh said on Wednesday.

"We are very clear on this. When we went to theJammu and Kashmirpeople with an agenda of 44 plus but the way people ofJammu and Kashmirvoted then definitely we had to form the government on the basis of common agenda. Our coalition partner doesn't agree with this and that is why we have kept it side for the time being," ANI reported.

The BJP is rulingJammu and Kashmirwith its coalition partnerthe People's Democratic Party (PDP).

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Singh explained that since this was a Constitutional provision, any change in the status required a set procedure.

'If we have to change theArticle 370, then there is a Constitutional process for that. We are a democratic country and everything is open for judicial scrutiny. We believe in the Constitutional process. We required numbers for that (Abrogation ofArticle 370) which is not with us," Singh said while addressing a press conference.

Article 370provides temporary provisions to the state ofJammu and Kashmirgranting it special autonomy under the Indian Constitution.

UnderArticle 370the Indian Parliament cannot increase or reduce the borders of the state.

The BJP has long been opposed to theArticle 370. Its ideologueDr Syama Prasad Mookherjeewas strongly opposed toArticle 370and saw it as a threat to unity of the country and fought against it inside and outside of the Parliament.

Mookherjee served as minister for industry and supply in prime ministerJawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. After falling out with Nehru, Mukherjee quit the Indian National Congress and founded the right-wing nationalistBharatiya Jana Sangh(which would later evolve into BJP) in 1951.

UnderArticle 370,Jammu and Kashmirwas granted its own flag along with Prime Minister whose permission was required for anyone to enter the state. In opposition to this, Mookherjee once said "Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan aur Do Nishan nahi chalenge" (A single country can't have two constitutions, two prime ministers, and two national emblems).Bharatiya Jana Sanghalong withHindu Mahasabhaand Jammu Praja Parishad launched a massive Satyagraha to get the provisions removed.

Mookerjee went to visit Kashmir in 1953 illegally, and observed a hunger strike to protest the law that prohibited Indian citizens from settling within the state and mandating that they carry ID cards. Mukherjee wanted to go toJammu and Kashmirbut, because of the prevailing permit system, he was not given permission. He was arrested onMay 11at Lakhanpur while crossing the border into Kashmir illegally. Although the ID card rule was revoked owing to his efforts, he died as a detenu on June 23, 1953 under mysterious circumstances.

Since then, the BJP has been opposed to theArticle 370and wants its abrogation.