Time for annulment of Article 370 and 35A: BJP leader Ravinder Raina

Jammu: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravinder Raina demanded that Article 370 and 35A of the Constitution should be repealed at the earliest even though the results of the Lok Sabha elections are awaited.

"In the lieu of Article 370 and 35A, big political families have looted Jammu and Kashmir and the poor people. This is the time when such articles should be done away with as it gives birth to separatism and terrorism," said Ravinder Raina.

The BJP in their election manifesto has promised to abrogate Article 370 and do away with Article 35A of the Constitution. The manifesto states that the NDA government is committed to overcoming all obstacles that come in the way of development in Jammu and Kashmir.

Article 35A protects the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir with respect to employment, property and aids by the state government whereas Article 370 protects and grants special status to the sovereignty of the state giving the power to make a separate set of laws to be applied for its governance.