JAMMU: Following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the repeal of Article 370, AICC Jammu and Kashmir incharge Rajni Patil stated on Sunday that the central leadership of the Congress will be consulted in order to come up with a plan to protect locals’ jobs and land. On December 11, the Supreme Court affirmed the Center’s decision to repeal Article 370, which gave the former state of Jammu and Kashmir special status. The court also ordered that statehood be restored “as soon as possible” and that assembly elections be held by September 30 of the following year. Patil also reaffirmed that the J&K assembly election should be the starting point for the implementation of the law providing for the reservation of 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.“JKPCC’s demand for seeking means to safeguard land and jobs besides natural resources and other identities of the locals shall be taken up with the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for respecting aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” she stated to reporters. “Throughout the whole Bharat Jodo Yatra in J&K, people had adamantly brought up this issue with Rahul Gandhi. Citing Article 371 that grants “special status” to twelve states, Patil stated, “Our Constitution is quite flexible to accommodate the divergent aspirations and demand of the vast country which is full of diversities, which is our strength.” In an apparent jab at the central BJP leadership, “which is on top of the world” in light of the recent results, she said that history is witness to the fact that every pride has fallen, citing Ravana as an example. In the most recent assembly elections, Patil asserted that the BJP had received 4.81 crore votes, while the Congress had received 4.91 crore. “So the Congress is a strong force all over the country including in J&K” . Speaking to employees, she said that if the Modi administration had been sincere, the women’s reservation law would have been put into effect in time for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections; instead, it has been postponed until after 2029, which she described as “injustice to half of the population”.Patil backed the previous government employee pension plan and declared that it would be carried out here as well if the Congress took over in J&K. In his brief speech, Vikar Rasool Wani, the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC), urged the party’s cadres to prepare for the assembly elections and “expose the wrong policies” of the BJP, which he claimed had “destroyed the future” of youths and imposed enormous taxes on the populace. The Congress will vigorously bring up issues pertaining to all segments of society, such as the unemployed, workers, and daily gamblers. If the people wish to overthrow this regime, it is their only remaining option,” he continued.
