PHAGWARA, Apr 28:
A right-wing outfit in Punjab today demanded scrapping of Article 370 that grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and also called for the country to take the initiative to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.
Talking to newsmen here, Deepak Bhardwaj, President, Punjab Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Suraksha Samiti, said that provision of special status to Jammu and Kashmir was tantamount to discrimination with other states of the country.
“This must be shelved at the earliest by scrapping Article 370 to halt the growing attacks on security forces in J&K,” he said.
Reminding the Modi Government that it had come to power on the agenda of construction of Ram temple in Ayodhaya, uniform civil code and scrapping of Article 370, Bhardwaj said while the first two issues were being addressed by it, the third issue was being sidelined under pressure of Mehbooba Mufti’s Government in J&K.
Demanding continuation of surgical strikes against cross-border terror camps for curbing terrorism, Bhardwaj argued that non-Kashmiris should be allowed to buy property in J&K while the Hindus uprooted from the state should be rehabilitated there for bringing Kashmir into the national mainstream. (PTI)