PM Modi’s Address To Nation: 5 Issues to Explain on Art 370 in J&K

The Presidential Order amounts to the Central Govt taking its own consent to amend Article 370 of the Constitution

PM Modi Address to Nation Today: 5 Key issues on Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir, Article 35A that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should explain in his address to the nation on Thursday.

(Photo: Shruti Mathur/ The Quint)

Video Editor: Ashutosh Bharadwaj

The suspense is finally over. The questions, though, continue to pour in.

On Monday, 5 August, the blanket of secrecy was finally lifted off the Valley only to confirm what many of us had long been speculating – The Centre, through a Presidential Order, invoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to withdraw the special status to Jammu & Kashmir.

If Monday belonged to Home Minister Amit Shah who presided over the legislative blitzkrieg, then Thurday will see the baton passed on to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will try to soothe nerves with an address to the nation.

There has been enough confusion and chaos over the last week and if there’s one thing that Indians, perhaps, seek is information, explanation and, above all, clarity. Here are five issues that we hope PM Modi will shed more light on during his address on Thursday.

1. The People of Jammu & Kashmir

While the message to Kashmir is clear – an integration with the rest of India as many leaders have said – what about the Kashmiris?

PM Modi, what happens to the 1.5 crore people who have been under lockdown, have had communication crippled and movement blocked. What is the roadmap to eliminate uncertainty and fear in the short term and equal opportunities for the 1.5 percent of India among other the 98.5 percent?

2. The Governor of J&K and His Approval

The Notification issued by the President opens with the lines “President, with the concurrence of the Government of State of Jammu and Kashmir, is pleased to make the following Order”.

This means that the concurrence of the J&K state government has been taken. But hang on a moment – the state has been under President’s Rule since December 2018. So, the consent taken was that of the governor.

Prime Minister, sir – the governor is a representative of the Central Government. Advocate Gautam Bhatia says that “in effect, therefore, the Presidential Order amounts to the Central Government taking its own consent to amend the Constitution.”

3. President's Rule

Mr Prime Minister, there is another vital issue here – President’s rule is a temporary provision but has been used here to take a decision of a permanent nature.

President’s Rule is only meant to be an ad hoc provision until an elected government is restored. Using the governor, instead of having the elected J&K Assembly to recommend a move which alters the Constitutional status of the region, begs many questions. PM sir, many across India are seeking greater clarity on this.

4. The Legal Acrobatics

PM Modi, there is still a great deal of confusion as to how much of Article 370 was effectively revoked.

So, what happened yesterday, if I’m getting this right, was that first Article 370(1) was used to pass a presidential order to apply the entire Constitution to J&K and supersede previous orders including Article 35A, effectively rendering the special status provisions inoperative.

The order also amended the interpretation clause of the Constitution, Article 367, when it comes to J&K, so that you could now interpret Article 370(3) in such a way that the need to seek the J&K Constituent Assembly’s recommendation was eliminated.

After that, you used this new interpretation of Article 370(3) as a justification to recommend to the President the removal of Article 370. If this is right, it’s basically using indirect means to achieve something you couldn’t do directly, isn’t it?

5. Bringing the Constitution to Jammu & Kashmir

Mr Prime Minister, since this move has been to bring the Constitution of India to J&K, why were leaders who have historically supported the Constitution and sworn by it not consulted and taken into confidence on this massive decision?

On the contrary, those who have supported our Constitutional values like Omar Abdullah and his National Conference were put under house arrest and later arrested. PM sir, why was this done?

Sir, it hardly needs my reminding that there is confusion and apprehension not just in the valley but across the country. Sir, tomorrow during your address, the nation will look up to the Prime Minister for answers and an assurance that things will be peaceful.