Not the correct time to rake up Article 35 (A): Congress

The Congress on Monday said that issue of Article 35 (A) should not be discussed at the moment as the state of Jammu and Kashmir is facing enough crisis at the moment.

Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir has reached its most abysmal position presently, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are running in different directions.

Singhvi said, at a time when the state is in complete chaos and figures of border intrusions and causalities is increasing it is dangerous to rake an issue of divisive nature such as 35 (A).

"It is unfortunate that when Jammu and Kashmir has reached its most abysmal position where there is complete chaos, where the state government and the Central government though of the same color or coalition are riding in two different directions, where governance in the ground has gone, where the number of causality figures, whether of the armed forces or of the border intrusions or of terrorists incidents or of civilian deaths or of military deaths. Any of these five parameters have risen exponentially in last several months and years," said Singhvi.

"During such a time is it correct to talk about a further divisive issue like 35 A. the merits of the issue don't matter at the moment. There is a time and place for everything. Even if it is debatable, it is certainly not debatable today," he added.

Earlier in the day, National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah said investment in Jammu and Kashmir is not coming because of 'perception' and not because of state's special status.

He said industry in the state saw a decline not because of Articles 370 or 35 (A), but the age-old perception of the state being "unsafe" for investment.

Talking to media, Abdullah said, "J&K is perceived as unsafe for investment. We have a small industry infrastructure as there are no raw materials available in the state. We have a geographical disadvantage. This is the reason for the stinted growth of industries here, and not because of the imposition of Articles 370 or 35 (A), as is being projected by the ruling coalition.