Fresh assertion

Former Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti recently asserted that the Centre will soon be left with no alternative but to restore the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

This fresh assertion is quite surprising as the Union Home Minister recently refused to give any timeline to the parliament when they are going to restore statehood back to Jammu and Kashmir.

Erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has been downgraded and divided into two union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir and the talk of restoration of special status seems farfetched.

In such circumstances even the holding of elections for the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir which has been given legislature on the pattern New Delhi is not getting any indications that the elections would be held even to elect the assembly for the UT.

When the government decided to divide Jammu and Kashmir they also asserted that Ladakh union territory would be under the direct control of the union government and it would be having no legislature.

Mehbooba Mufti has been very critical of the central government especially after her release from the detention as she was kept in detention for a long time and was only released recently.

Restoration of article 370 would be a tough battle even for the political platform jointly formed by the mainstream political parties. It is the long battle and the assertion of Mehbooba Mufti that it would be restored soon does not sink with the ground realities prevailing here.