Srinagar: Former Union Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha, who is currently on a “peace mission” to Kashmir, said on Friday that the Government of India (GoI) should immediately clear its stand on Article 35-A of the Constitution, which confers special status to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
Yashwant Sinha, (retired) is an Indian administrator, politician and a former Minister of Finance. He is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is now the single most dominant party of the Indian parliament after the 2014 general election. His son Jayant Sinha, a consultant and investor, won the 2014 elections for the Hazaribagh constituency and his son is currently serving as Minister of State for Civil Aviation in Narendra Modi’s cabinet.
Amid furore over Article 35 A, former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha-led Track II team embarked on ‘Peace Mission 3.0’ to meet the mainstream and separatist politicians in an apparent bid to break the logjam on Kashmir.
Sinha and his delegation called on National Conference President Farooq Abdullah and working President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar.
Article 35A of the Indian Constitution is an article that empowers the Jammu and Kashmir state’s legislature to define “permanent residents” of the state and provide special rights and privileges to those permanent residents.
“People of Jammu and Kashmir are very concerned over the issue and the Centre should clear its stand,” Mr Sinha, who is here on a three-day visit since August 16 told mediapersons.
He said the Jammu and Kashmir government has already filed a reply against the petition challenging the Article in the Supreme Court .
“Now it is the duty of the Centre to make its stand clear on the issue as people are very concerned here,” he said.
