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Is the Centre mulling to grant
Article 371 for the newly created
Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
as a compensation for the revocation
of Article 370 which granted the erst-
while state its partial autonomous sta-
tus within Indian Union. And is a small
group of Kashmiri leaders willing to
settle for this? There is no clarity as of
now but speculations to this effect are
doing the rounds in Kashmir ever since
the surprise meeting with the visiting
European Union delegation by three
Kashmir leaders: Muzaffar Hussain
Beigh, Altaf Bukhari and Usmaan Majid.
Beigh, a former J&K Deputy Chief
Minister, is a top PDP leader. Bukhari,
a former J&K Finance Minister, is a for-
mer PDP leader and Majid is a Congress
leader.
They met the EU delegation in New
Delhi in their capacity as Kashmiri
political representatives. It was seen
as a coup of sorts by New Delhi to get
them to meet the EU delegation at a
time when most Kashmiri leaders are
under detention following scrapping
of Article 370. Ever since talk of these
leaders bargaining for grant of Article Article of her mother, being in touch with her
371 has Kashmir abuzz. Local papers through a phone. But no tweet from her
have prominently carried reports on showing either support or disapproval
the alleged efforts by these leaders. And 371 for for Beigh’s activities has been posted
Beigh too lent credence to these reports so far.
by issuing a statement that Article 370 But at the same time, it is difficult to
was indeed the goal of their activities. Kashmir? dissociate Beigh from the PDP. He is the
“We are a hill state and the Consti- founder member of the PDP and will be
tution has provided special provisions perceived as speaking for it unless the
under Article 371 for all the hill states party expressly distances itself from
with domicile rights like those they en- Following repeal of Article him. But this hasn’t happened so far, at
joyed under Article 35A,” Beigh said in 370, which granted J&K least as forcefully as it is expected. And
an interview to a news agency. this is creating suspicion in the minds
However, there is a catch here. And partial autonomy under India’s of people in the Valley. Questions are
this is about Beigh’s locus standi to constitution, some Kashmiri being raised whether Beigh is acting on
propose Article 370 for J&K. Beigh is leaders are plumping for behalf of Mehbooba or on his own. And
a patron of the PDP but it is not clear if independently, why isn’t party wash-
whether he enjoys the blessing of his grant of Article 371 to ing its hands of him.
party in pressing the demand. PDP the erstwhile state as a
president Mehbooba Mufti is in jail. But New politics?
her daughter Iltija Mufti is free and she compensation, reports There is another way of looking at it.
has also been able to tweet on behalf riyaz wani And it is that by mooting the idea of

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