Kashmir-centric political parties, on Monday, threatened to fight against BJP’s election commitment of abrogation of the Article 370 and annulling the Article 35A. The BJP has made the promise in its election manifesto that was released on Monday in Delhi.

Peoples Conference leader, Sajad Lone, whom the BJP has been supporting, has also criticised the move and said it would be a “disaster”. National Conference chief, Farooq Abdullah, who is seeking re-election to the Lok Sabha from Srinagar, said abrogation of Article 370 will pave way for “Azadi” (independence) for the people of the state.

“Do they (New Delhi) think that they will abrogate Articles 370 and 35A and we will sit quiet? They are wrong. We will fight against it. I think its Allah’s will that they are trying to abrogate it. Let them do it and it will pave way for our Azadi,” Abdullah said while addressing an election rally in Munawarabad area of Downtown Srinagar.

While the Article 370 provides special status to J&K, the Article 35A empowers the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to define “permanent resident” of the state and provide special rights and privileges to those permanent residents which are excluded for non-permanent residents.

In a bid to show affinity with the separatists and other Kashmir-centric parties, Pakistan has warned that abrogation of the Article 370 will not be accepted. Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal had, on Saturday, claimed that abrogation of the Constitutional provision by India is violative of UN resolutions.

It is worth mentioning that Pakistan does not apply any special status or state subject laws in the areas of Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) it was illegally occupying while it criticizes India over the controversial provision.

Reacting to BJP’s Kashmir vision in its manifesto, former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, “Recently J&K Governor claimed there was no threat to Art 370 & 35-A and that parties like mine were only using them to drum up fear in the elections. I hope his colleagues in the BJP send him a copy of their manifesto”.

Recently J&K Governor claimed there was no threat to Art 370 & 35-A and that parties like mine were only using them to drum up fear in the elections. I hope his colleagues in the BJP send him a copy of their manifesto.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) April 8, 2019

PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, who was the chief minister earlier with the support of BJP, tweeted, “Beware fellow hindustanis. Your certificate of patriotism will be issued only if you have a communal and anti minority mindset. Otherwise you will be consigned to the tukde tukde gang”.

Beware fellow hindustanis. Your certificate of patriotism will be issued only if you have a communal and anti minority mindset. Otherwise you will be consigned to the tukde tukde gang. https://t.co/DnZyD76Xhu

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) April 8, 2019

Peoples Conference leader, Sajad Lone, reacted sharply to BJP’s commitment and tweeted, “Article 370 and 35A are sacred. The only space for movement in this regard is reversal of the erosions. Any other reckless thought or comment seeking removal is a disaster”. It is worth mentioning that Lone’s party is controlling the Srinagar Municipal Corporation with the support of the BJP.

Article 370 and 35A are sacred. The only space for movement in this regard is reversal of the erosions. Any other reckless thought or comment seeking removal is a disaster.

— Sajad Lone (@sajadlone) April 8, 2019

CPI(M) leader, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, described BJP’s promise of abrogation of Article 370 and annulling Article 35A as another exercise to “hoodwink” the voters ahead of the General Election.

The prevailing situation in Kashmir is before the eyes of everybody. From 2014 onwards, it is clear that the single biggest “success” of the BJP has been to push Kashmir into the lap of cycles of violence, resulting in a huge number of deaths of civilians and security forces personnel. Any attempt to abrogate Article 370 will be disastrous and will have unimaginable repercussions, Tarigami said.