Kashmiri Pandits hail scrapping of Art 370; J-K students in Delhi voice concern for kin back home

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hailed the Centre's move to abolish Article 370 hoping it will bring peace and development to Jammu and Kashmir, even as Kashmiri students in the national capital expressed concern for their family members back home.

Kashmiri Pandits, displaced from the Valley in the 1990s, also hailed the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution as a "historic event" and hoped it would pave the way for their return to homeland with honour and dignity.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution in Rajya Sabha to abolish Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, after the president issued a notification, and introduced a Bill to divide the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

"We hope this will bring peace and development in the state," the chief minister tweeted.

Kejriwal said the AAP supports the Centre's move on Jammu and Kashmir.

Bhagwant Mann is the Aam Aadmi Party's lone member in Lok Sabha, while it has three members -- Sanjay Singh, Sushil Gupta and N D Gupta -- in Rajya Sabha.

Following the Centre's move, an uneasy calm prevailed at two of the Jammu and Kashmir Houses in Delhi, even as authorities said security deployment at these establishments remained as usual.

Kashmiri students in the city termed the the central government's move as "dictatorial" and expressed concern about the safety of their family members back home.

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Shehla Rashid, who has been vocal against the scrapping of Article 370, said they would approach the Supreme Court in the matter.

Rashid is a member of former IAS officer Shah Faesal's political outfit Jammu and Kashmir Peoples' Movement (JKPM).

"We will challenge the order passed today in the Supreme Court. The move to replace "Government" by "Governor" and Constituent Assembly by "Legislative Assembly" is a fraud upon the Constitution. Appeal to progressive forces for solidarity. Protests today in Delhi and Bangalore," she tweeted.

JNUSU general secretary Aejaz Ahmed Rather said, "It is unconstitutional and dictatorship is being perpetrated from the floor of Parliament."