Karachi, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), has accused the Narendra Modi-led Indian government of propagating misleading narratives to justify the abrogation of Article 370. This article had previously granted special status to occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Tarigami referred to the statement made by the India-installed Lieutenant Governor of occupied Kashmir, Manoj Sinha. Sinha had claimed that the implementation of the Anand Marriage Act in Jammu and Kashmir was made possible only because of the abrogation of Article 370. Contradicting this claim, Tarigami pointed out that there had been numerous amendments to Article 370 in the past, which allowed the application of India’s laws to Jammu and Kashmir.
He cited the passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017 by the so-called Assembly of the occupied territory as a recent example of such amendments. Tarigami argued that there were 42 constitutional (Application to J&K) orders that had extended the scope of Delhi’s intervention, which was not initially envisaged at the time of the adoption of Article 370.
Furthermore, Tarigami highlighted a specific instance from July 1986 to demonstrate the misuse of Article 370 to encroach upon the territory’s power. He mentioned an order issued by the Indian President under Article 370, which extended Article 249 of the Constitution to the territory. This extension empowered the Indian Parliament to legislate on matters in the state list based on a resolution from the Rajya Sabha, a move that received approval from the India-appointed Governor, Jagmohan.
Tarigami emphasized that such overriding of the state list was unique to occupied Kashmir and did not apply to other Indian states. His statements challenge the Indian government’s narrative and shed light on the complexities surrounding the abrogation of Article 370 and its implications for the region’s autonomy and legislative processes.