Article 370 Verdict: The reactions started to pour in after the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir as constitutionally valid. Reacting to the apex court's decision, former J&K CM Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are not happy with the decision taken by an absolute majority. He further stated that Articles 370 and 35A were historic for the region and were connected to region's sentiments.


“Our last hope was that the Supreme Court would hear this. There was a debate on this in the Supreme Court for three to four months. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are not happy with the decision taken by an absolute majority. Even today, I think that Article 370 and 35A were historic things for our region and were connected to our sentiments. Article 35A, which was created by Maharaj Hari Singh, was included when our Constitution was made. But this too has been abolished. This will harm our economy. Land will become expensive, and people from all over India will come to Jammu and Kashmir. Our biggest industry is tourism and government jobs, but now people from all over the country can apply for them. This will increase unemployment for our children. When Article 370 was implemented, all these things were kept in mind," Azad said.


The Vice President of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference Omar Abdullah expressed his "disappointment' over apex court's decision and said that the struggle will continue. "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," Abdullah said on X.






On the Supreme Court's verdict, senior Congress leader and Maharaja Hari Singh's son Karan Singh says, "A section of people in J&K who will not be happy with this judgement, my sincere advice is that they should accept the inevitable and they should accept the fact that now this has been done and the Supreme Court has upheld the action, and therefore there's no point now unnecessarily hitting their head against the wall. Now my suggestion is that they should turn their energies towards fighting the next elections. That is where the people should now be motivated instead of developing any negativity."


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Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti took to X and said that the people of J&K are not going to lose hope or give up. "Our fight for  honour and dignity will continue regardless. This isn’t the end of the road for us," she said.






Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray said, "We welcome this decision because we supported the removal of Article 370. We hope the J&K elections will be held at the earliest. Before elections, if PoK is included, then this exercise can be held in the entire Kashmir..."






Reacting to the verdict of the top court, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said," The Centre should conduct elections in J&K as soon as possible and also restore full statehood."






All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi also expressed his "disappointment" from  SC's decision.  






Supreme Court's Verdict On Article 370 Abrogation


Four years after Jammu and Kashmir lost its special status, the Supreme Court on Monday said the Centre's decision to abrogate Article 370 was constitutionally valid even as sought restoration of statehood for the Union Territory  at the earliest. The apex court held that Article 370 was a temporary provision because of war-like conditions in the state.


The apex court announced its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370. In 2019, the Central government revoked the said article, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.


The arguments had commenced on August 2. The apex court had on September 5 reserved its verdict in the matter after a 16-day hearing. 


A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud delivered the verdict today. Other bench members were Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, and Surya Kant, reported PTI.


Several petitions were filed challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 that divided the erstwhile state into two union territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The pleas were later referred to a Constitution bench in 2019.


Ahead of the verdict, the BJP underlined the need to respect the ruling of the top court on Article 370, urging against politicising the matter. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah affirmed a commitment to maintaining peace in Jammu and Kashmir, even in the face of an adverse verdict, vowing to pursue their cause within legal boundaries.