Senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has said the plan to tinker with the Article 35, which gives special rights and privileges to the natives of Jammu and Kashmir, is a conspiracy to create a Palestine like situation in the state.
In a statement, Geelani said the conspiracy has been hatched to change the demography of the Muslim majority state.
He said if the state-subject law is removed, people from other states will purchase land in Jammu ad Kashmir and a Palestine like the situation will arise. He added that the people in the state would resist the "conspiracy" tooth and nail.
Geelani appealed the writers, scholars and other respected members of society to make people aware of the consequences of proposed repealing of state-subject law, and urged them to make every possible effort to reach out to the international community to apprise them about the horrifying situations in the state and its disputed status.
''We will safeguard the integrity and special status of the state at any cost,'' Geelani said. He said the BJP regime is working to sabotage the referendum process in the state. He also urged the pro-India politicians to join the pro-freedom ranks and play their role in resolving this long-pending issue.
The oldest separatist leader, 86, said the plan to tinker with Article 35A was a well thought out ploy to end the special status of the state. The concern over Article 35A shown by mainstream parties was mere rhetoric and gimmick, he added.
Attacking the PDP for its "failure" over Article 35A, Geelani called the party an ally of the RSS and the PDP-BJP alliance as an unholy nexus.
Meanwhile, the Awami Itehad Party (People's Unity Party) led by Engineer Rashid on Wednesday said the party will host a round table discussion with all stakeholders on the issue of the Article 35A to develop a broader consensus about the issue on August 13.
The legislator from Langate welcomed the meeting between Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the issue.
He said the meeting between the two leaders, though late, could become a good beginning for a larger reconciliation and unanimity among political class to fulfill the genuine aspirations and sentiments of people
Rasheed said that such efforts may yield nothing unless resistance leadership (separatists), civil society, traders and people of Jammu and Ladakh region are not also involved in a common minimum programme.
