Article 370 abrogation anniversary: “Under house arrest,” says Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 5 (ANI): Former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that she has been put under “house arrest” along with other senior party leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370.

Taking to the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), the PDP leader said that the Centre’s claims about normalcy in the Union Territory “stand exposed.” 

“I’ve been put under house arrest along with other senior PDP leaders today. This comes after a midnight crackdown where scores of my party men are illegally detained in police stations. GOIs false claims about normalcy to the SC stands exposed by their actions driven by paranoia,” Mufti said. 

“On one hand, giant hoardings calling upon Kashmiris to ‘celebrate’ the illegal abrogation of Article 370 have been put up across Srinagar. Whereas brute force is being used to choke the actual sentiment of the people. Hope the Hon’ble SC takes cognisance of these developments at a time when Article 370 has come up for hearing,” she added. 

The Centre abrogated special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

Meanwhile, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court had on Wednesday began hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Constitution bench comprises Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, and Surya.