“His raking up of Article 370 is a very disturbing indicator of his approach to sensitivities of the people of Jammu and Kashmir who acceded to India in pursuit of some dreams which still elude them and constitutional guarantees that can neither be withdrawn nor wished away,” the PDP patron said.
“One had expected the prime ministerial candidate hopeful to steer clear of the divisive issues and follow Atal Bihari Vajpayee in building bridges rather than sparking off controversies that have no relevance except trying to reap votes at the cost of national interest,” he said.
He said that Modi's remarks on Article 370 is nothing more than “electoral rhetoric”.
“Even the Article 1 of the constitution of India determining the territory of the country applies to J&K by virtue of Article 370 only. Scrap this bridge with rest of the country and the entire gamut of accession and related issues stare in your face,” Sayeed said.
On Modi's remarks that women had not been given equal rights in the state unlike in other parts of the country, he said, “It is factually incorrect to say that women of Jammu and Kashmir do not enjoy equal rights. Any woman of the state who marries outside does not lose her inheritance rights”.
