National Conference leader and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that he hoped for an early decision from the Supreme Court regarding the pleas challenging the abrogation of Article 370.The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that a five-judge Constitution bench will start hearing the batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution from August 2.“It is a good news. It is better late than never. We have been waiting for this hearing to begin since 2019 when Article 370 was unilaterally abrogated. We think our stand on the issue is a right one. Our case [against the Centres abrogation of Article 370] is strong,” Omar Abdullah told ANI in Srinagar.“Lot of things are attached with this hearing…There is petition of Jammu and Kashmirs Panthers Party with respect to holding of elections in the UT… We expect justice.“We hope that the hearing ends soon and Supreme Courts decision comes before us soon,” he added.Abdullah also took shots at the affidavit filed by the Centre to defend its actions, which said that “the entire area [of Jammu and Kashmir] has witnessed an unprecedented area of peace, progress and prosperity”.These are definitely political arguments the BJP/Union Govt can make to sell their decision to the voter but they are not legal arguments. The entire case in the SC is about the illegality & unconstitutionality of what was done on 5th Aug 2019, not whether the Govt has a strong… https://t.co/NvLsKPmtEq— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 10, 2023Taking to Twitter, Abdullah said, “These are definitely political arguments the BJP/Union Govt can make to sell their decision to the voter but they are not legal arguments. The entire case in the SC is about the illegality & unconstitutionality of what was done on 5th Aug 2019, not whether the Govt has a strong enough political case.”National Conference MP Masood Hussaini also told ANI that he hoped for an early decision from the apex court regarding the petitions as they have a strong case.Article 370 in interest of all regions of J&K: Ex-CM Ghulam Nabi AzadFormer Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad, who recently formed the Democratic Progressive Azad Party, said earlier that the abrogated law was for the benefit of all the residents of the region irrespective of caste, creed or religion.Azad posted a message on Facebook on July 4 in Urdu that read, “I welcome the notice issued by the Supreme Court on July 11 to hear the petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370. After a long time, the Supreme Court has taken notice of the petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370. I hope for a positive outcome as I wish for full restoration of the rights that were abrogated on 5th August 2019.“From the first day I have emphasized that Article 370 is in the interest of all the regions of Jammu and Kashmir UT irrespective of caste, race and religion. We are confident that the Supreme Court will give justice to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and protect their interests.”
