Accession of J&K will go if Article 370 is abolished: Farooq

Union Minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah today said the accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India will end if Article 370 is abolished.
"It (accession) will certainly end. There is no doubt in it. Our accession is dependent on Article 370. Article 370 is the bridge which holds accession. If they (BJP) abolish Article 370, the bridge will go," Abdullah told reporters here.
The Union Minister said many people were of the opinion that Article 370 has been diluted over the years but it was not true.
"Many people say that but then there would not have been the flag of the state and we would not have had our own constitution. Everything would have ended then. We do not have to send bills to Delhi but we pass them here when other states have to send the bills to the President," he said.

Abdullah said his party will never give up on the demand of autonomy for the state.
"Autonomy is part of National Conference's agenda. We have never given up that agenda and we will never give that up. That is our agenda number one," he said.

He played down the demand for a union territory status for Ladakh region by local Congress unit there, saying there was nothing new in the demand.
"They have always been demanding it, there is nothing new in that. You do not worry. It is their own issue and they will see to it," Abdullah said.

Earlier, the NC president addressed a convention of the youth activists of the party in Amira Kadal assembly constituency of Srinagar parliamentary seat.
Abdullah is seeking re-election from the constituency which goes to polls on April 30.