A file photo of Omar Abdullah, former chief and NC Vice President, who was put under house-arrest on December 11, 2023, morning.
SRINAGAR: Two former Chief Ministers, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, National Conference Vice-President were put under house-arrest on Monday morning ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on a batch of petitions challenging abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
PDP official handle on ‘X’ announced in the morning before the SC decision was delivered by a Constitution Bench. The party also posted some photos of the locks put on the gates of her house.
However, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said the news of house arrest or arrest of anyone ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on Article 370 is “totally baseless”.
“Even before Supreme Court judgement is pronounced, police has sealed the doors of the residence of PDP president @MehboobaMufti and put her under illegal house arrest,” the party said in a post on ‘X’.
Even before Supreme Court judgement is pronounced, Police has sealed the doors of the residence of @jkpdp President Mehbooba Mufti and put her under illegal house arrest.
Meanwhile, police did not allow journalists to gather near National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah’s residence at Gupkar here, officials said.
A posse of police personnel was deployed at the entry point of Gupkar Road and journalists were not allowed anywhere near the residence of the NC leaders.
An NC leader said the main gate of the residence was locked by the police in the morning.
“Mr @OmarAbdullah has been locked up in his house. Democracy?” NC’s additional state spokesperson Sara Hayat Shah said in a post on X.
She also posted pictures of the locked gate of the Abdullah residence on the microblogging platform.
Omar Abdullah lives with his father after he vacated his official residence in October 2020.
Farooq Abdullah, who is the Member of Parliament from Srinagar, is in Delhi for the ongoing Parliament session, but Omar Abdullah is in the valley.
Omar Abdullah also tweeted: Dear Mr LG these chains that have been put on my gate have not been put by me so why are you denying what your police force has done. It’s also possible you don’t even know what your police is doing? Which one is it? Are you being dishonest or is your police acting independent of you?
LG: #WATCH | On reports of J&K leaders put under house arrest ahead of SC verdict on abrogation of Art 370, LG Manoj Sinha says, “This is totally baseless. No one has been put under house arrest or arrested due to political reasons in J&K. It is an attempt to spread rumours.”
Omar Abdullah also posted: Disappointed but not disheartened. The struggle will continue. It took the BJP decades to reach here. We are also prepared for the long haul. #WeShallOvercome #Article370
Senior CPIM leader M Y Tarigami also took to X and posted that he was not permitted to go out of his house in Srinagar. He posted on the X
Ahead of the Supreme Court’s verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of Article 370, National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi said he was hopeful that the decision will be made in favour of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“We are hopeful that the decision will be in the favour of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. We are in favour of peace,” Masoodi said.
@Sajad Lone: The Supreme Court verdict on Article 370 is disappointing. Justice yet again eludes the people of J and K. Article 370 may have been legally obliterated but will always remain a part of our political aspirations.
In the case of statehood the Supreme Court sidestepped even commenting on it, thus protecting the entire country from any future misuse, by citing precedence. Yet the same misuse was subtly endorsed in J & K. Let us hope at a future date Justice wakes up from its slumber of pretence.
While the judgement’s would have to be read in entirety. What seems evident at first blush is that . 1. The question whether Reorganization a State by suspending the 2nd Proviso to Article 3 is valid or invalid has been left open and has not adjudicated upon. 2. The procedure adopted by issuing CO 272 to amend Article 370 is ultra vires of the Constitution of India. Where does that leave Article 370? Is it operational in its original form or not? 3. The carving out of the UT of Ladakh is valid. 4. The statehood of Jammu & Kashmir must be restored at the earliest and elections must be held before September 30th 2024.
While the judgement’s would have to be read in entirety. What seems evident at first blush is that . 1. The question whether Reorganization a State by suspending the 2nd Proviso to Article 3 is valid or invalid has been left open and has not adjudicated upon. 2. The procedure…
Kapil Sibal (tweeted before the judgement, Courts)
Some battles are fought to be lost For history must record the uncomfortable facts for generations to know The right and wrong of institutional actions will be debated for years to come History alone is the final arbiter of the moral compass of historic decisions.
Earlier, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah questioned security arrangements that are being made in Kashmir prior to the decision to be announced by the SC and said that lists are being prepared by police to detain National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leaders.
Mehbooba Mufti said that the SC took five years to hear this important case. “The SC’s earlier decisions had previously maintained that Article 370 could only be scrapped based on the recommendations of the constituent assembly of J&K. Any decision contrary to this established process would not only be against the constitution but also against the very spirit of the idea of India,” Mehbooba Mufti told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Bijhbehera.
“The upcoming verdict is not solely about Article 370 but as a pivotal moment determining the future of India’s identity. I hope that the SC would recognise the consequences, transcending political transitions,” she added. The former CM asked the people not to lose hope, emphasising the importance of unity to secure their rights and restore their identity and dignity.
NC vice-president Abdullah said that he can’t say anything about the decision which will be given by five judges of SC on Monday. “Neither do I have any machinery to know the decision before it’s pronounced. I can only hope and pray the verdict should come in our favour. We are waiting for the judgement, once it comes we will give our reaction to it”.
He said that the government always needs an alibi to detain us…” They got that on December 11. But if the government is already aware about the judgement of the SC then it needs to be thoroughly probed.”
General secretary Democratic Progressive Azad Party and former minister RS Chib said “We are hopeful the decision is in our favour since it carries the aspirations and sentiments of the people of UT,” he said adding that it is the time for the BJP led Centre govt to return the statehood to J&K.
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