J&K's Article 370 scrapped: Governor Satya Pal Malik holds late night meeting to review security, law & order

A day after the upper house of the Parliament passed the massive Jammu & Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019, Jammu and Kahsmir governor held a meeting last night on Monday to review security situation. The Bill scraps the Article 370 that makes way for Article 35 A which provided special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a Raj Bhawan spokesperson, governor Satya Pal Malik held a meeting with top officials and reviewed the prevailing security and law and order scenario in the state.The governor's advisors K Vijay Kumar, KK Sharma, K Skandan and Farooq Khan, and chief secretary BVR Subrahmanyam attended the meeting. Kumar, Skandan and Khan, who returned to Srinagar from Jammu after taking stock of essential services, briefed the governor about the adequacy of essential supplies and delivery of various public services to the people, including electricity, water supply and health care services.

Reviewing the law and order situation and preparedness of the government machinery, Governor Malik emphasised the need for constant alertness, preparedness and synergy among various departments and agencies to enable dealing with the emerging situation in a coordinated and effective manner.The governor reiterated the need to constantly maintain a close watch on the ground situation and underlined the importance of sustained efforts to bring peace and harmony in the society for the overall benefit of people.

The governor stressed the need for ensuring the safety of the general public and advised the administration to give due consideration to the genuine needs of people in the current scenario, the spokesman said. Subrahmanyam informed the governor that there was no dearth of essential commodities in Kashmir Valley and that the stock would last for over three months.

Rajya Sabha passes Jammu & Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019

The government had revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and proposed that the state be bifurcated into two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.The Jammu & Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019, which strips Jammu and Kashmir's status of a state and converts it into a Union Territory with legislature and carving out Ladakh region as a UT without legislature, was passed in a division pressed by the opposition with 125 votes in favor and 61 against, and an NCP member abstained.

READ: With J&K's Article 370 to go, PM Modi's journey: From hoisting Tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk 27 years ago, to integrating India

What is Article 35 A?

Incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential order, Article 35 A defines the permanent residents of the state of Jammu and Kashmir by giving special rights and privileges to the state subjects. It stems from Article 370 that gives autonomous right to Jammu and Kashmir. 

The article is also referred to as Permanent Residents Law and bars woman belonging to the state from any property rights if she marries a person from outside the state. Even the children of such women do not get the right as they do not have any succession rights over the property.

What is Article 370?

It exempts Jammu and Kashmir from following the Indian Constitution except for Article 1 and itself. It also restricts Parliament's legislative powers in Jammu and Kashmir. It was passed in the Constituent Assembly on May 27, 1949 and is the first article of Part XXI of the Indian Constitution. The heading of this part is ‘Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions’.

READ: J&K: Article 370 scrapped, United States urges all stakeholders to maintain peace, says 'closely watching'