The BJP used J&K as a test bed, and Mehbooba

Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, stated on Saturday that the state, which is now split into two Union territories after losing its special status, is a “laboratory” for the BJP government in Delhi.
A day after the opposition gathering, Mufti spoke to the media here, expressing concern that the whole nation would be “Kashmirized” if the party were to regain power.
The whole concept of India is being attacked. The most blatant example of this, according to Mufti, the last Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, is when they repealed Article 370 and threw the state’s leaders, including three past Chief Ministers, in prison.
J-K was a research facility. What we see in Delhi now, with the federal ordinance, really began in our state much earlier. Mufti, leader of the People’s Democratic Party, claims that “unfortunately, few people understood it back then.”
The vice chairperson of the Gupkar Declaration, who previously served in a coalition government with the saffron party, warned that “the BJP, if it returns to power in 2024, will trample upon the Constitution and undertake Kashmirization of the whole country.”
“That was never the central issue of the meeting,” she said in response to Aam Aadmi Party claims that Congress “refused” to oppose the ordinance that limits the powers of the Arvind Kejriwal Government at the meeting. The concept of India and the attacks on the Constitution were front and centre for everyone.
If the Opposition parties united and beat the BJP, would Article 370 be restored? Mufti said, “The fight is to save the Constitution.” And the Constitution includes Article 370 as well. The Indian Constitution has a particular provision for Jammu and Kashmir. No Chinese or Pakistani charity was involved.
Jammu and Kashmir is mostly Muslim, yet its people nevertheless voted to join India, putting their faith in the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, and Ambedkar. The State Assembly had the greatest sway. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir must approve the repeal of Article 370 before it may be abolished. However, she said that the BJP had “bullied everything.”
When asked whether the discussion addressed the question of who will serve as the “face” of the Opposition, Mufti said, “Where is the need? Collectively, the parties represented at the conference had garnered over 60% of the vote in the most recent Lok Sabha elections.
It must be acknowledged that the warm greeting he receives on his tours overseas is due to the respect India has as a soft power, which it owes to the Constitution, she remarked, taking aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI)