Advani for repeal of Article 370

The country eagerly awaits the day when Article 370 would be repealed and the two vidhans (Constitution) also would become one � L K Advani New Delhi (IANS): BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday said that Article 370, that gives a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, should be repealed if the country has to have one constitution instead of one for that state and another for the country. "The country awaits the day when Article 370 would be repealed and the two constitutions would become one," Advani wrote in his blog on the 60th death anniversary of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of the erstwhile Jana Sangh. Mookerjee had opposed the Indian National Congress's decision to grant Kashmir a special status with its own flag and its own prime minister. Recalling the suspicious circumstance in which Mookarjee died while in the detention of J&K Police June 23, 1953, Advani wrote in his blog 'Independent India's First Martyr for National Integration' that besides the abolition of the permit system for entering J&K, "two prime ministers became one, two apex courts became one, two election authorities became one, two principal auditors became one... all because of Dr Shyama Prasad's sacrifice." Advani recalled the first session of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh at Kanpur where Mookerjee gave the slogan "Ek desh mein do pradhan, do nishan, do vidhan, nahin chalenge (in one country there cannot be two chiefs, two flags and two constitutions)." About Mookerjee's martyrdom, Advani wrote: "Until this time, neither the Supreme Court, nor the Election Commission, nor the Comptroller and Auditor General had any jurisdiction over Jammu and Kashmir. The authority of these three constitutional bodies was extended to the state." "Till then, the chief minister of the state was called the prime minister, and the head of state the sadar-e-riyasat. Neither the president nor the prime minister of the union had authority over the state." Mookerji's martyrdom brought about a change. In the state, the prime minister became chief minister, sadar-e-riyasat became governor and the president and the prime minister's formal authority got extended to the state.

Modi talks of healing wounds in Kashmir Pathankot (PTI): Virtually launching the party's campaign for 2014 elections, Gujarat CM?Narendra Modi on Sunday talked about the need to "heal the wounds" of Kashmiris and connect its aspiring youths with the national mainstream for the development of the state. Often described by critics as a divisive figure, Modi sought to portray himself as a leader who unifies, saying he would work for bringing parties and hearts together. Addressing a rally here, Modi invoked former PM?Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said the task he left incomplete would be pursued by BJP if voted to power. He attacked the UPA over its Kashmir policy, economy and national security, saying it has failed on all fronts. "Vajpayee had sought to win over the heart of Kashmir with compassion, love and dialogue...Had he been elected to power in 2004, he would have succeeded in his Kashmir policy," he said.