Annual BRICS summit, in Kazan
India's Modi rejects calls to restore Kashmir's partial autonomy
Reuters: NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed his government's contentious 2019 decision to revoke the partial autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, days after the territory's newly elected lawmakers sought its restoration.
"Only the constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar will operate in Kashmir... No power in the world can restore Article 370 (partial autonomy) in Kashmir," Modi said, referring to one of the founding fathers of the Indian constitution.
Modi was speaking at a state election rally in the western state of Maharashtra, where Ambedkar was from.
Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government revoked partial autonomy in 2019 and split the state into the two federally administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh - a move that was opposed by many political groups in the Himalayan region.
Jammu and Kashmir held its first local election in a decade in September and October and the newly-elected lawmakers passed a resolution this week seeking the restoration.
Jammu and Kashmir's ruling National Conference party had promised in its election manifesto that it would restore the partial autonomy, although the power to do so lies with Modi's federal government.
Jammu and Kashmir’s new lawmakers can legislate on local issues like other Indian states, except matters regarding public order and policing. They will also need the approval of the federally-appointed administrator on all policy decisions that have financial implications.
Under the system of partial autonomy, Kashmir had its own constitution and the freedom to make laws on all issues except foreign affairs, defence and communications.
The troubled region, where separatist militants have fought security forces since 1989, is India's only Muslim-majority territory.
It has been at the centre of a territorial dispute with Pakistan since the neighbours gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in part by both India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over the region.
In World
-
The European Union is set to introduce new sanctions targeting Russia’s so-called "shadow fleet" following a high-profile incident in the Baltic Sea that raised concerns over regional security and environmental risks, according to a statement by the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief Kai Kallas.
-
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambitious proposal to purchase Greenland, the world’s largest island, has reemerged as a topic of debate, with close aides and allies claiming it remains a serious consideration for his potential second term. However, Greenlandic and Danish officials reiterated their disagreement with this concept, calling it an affront to their sovereignty, according to an article in the New York Post.
-
On December 26, flowers were laid at the General Consulate of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Aktau in memory of the Azerbaijanis who lost their lives in the plane crash. Posters appeared on the walls as a tribute to the victims.
-
Protests broke out on Tuesday in several predominantly Christian neighborhoods of Damascus after a video circulated online showing a group of people burning a Christmas tree near Hama in central Syria, according to Western media reports.
Leave a review