J-K: NC to boycott panchayat polls

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], Sep 5 (ANI): National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said that his party will "not participate in the upcoming panchayat and urban local bodies polls until the Government of India and the state government make their position clear on Article 35A inside and outside the court."
The leader also added, "the core group felt that the announcement of elections in the state was taken in a hurried manner without taken into consideration of the prevailing situation created by the powers that are unnecessarily fiddling with Article 35A".
Speaking at the press conference, Farooq added that this decision was taken after holding a meeting on the contentious issue with the key leaders of the party.
"It was felt by the core group that any tinkering with Article 35A would prove disastrous not only for our state but for the entire country," Abdullah added.
The comments from the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister have come just days after the apex court deferred, untill January 2019, the hearing on a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Article 35A.
The Article disallows people from residing in Jammu and Kashmir, buying or owning immovable property in the state, settling permanently, or getting state government jobs.
"The role of the Central government and the present dispensation in state before the honourable Supreme Court goes clearly against the wishes and aspiration of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," Abdullah added. (ANI)