After Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti threatens to boycott local polls

She said no one can fiddle with the validity of the Article 35A.

"We will go to any extent to protect Article 35A," she was quoted as saying by the media.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Saturday threatened to boycott upcoming Lok Sabha as well as local elections if the central government doesn't take a stand on Article 35A, which bestows certain privileges to people of the state and bars outsiders from buying property in the region, media reports said.

Abdullah's threatening came three days after he said his party National Conference (NC) will boycott upcoming local body elections.

Abdullah's latest comment has been quoted by NDTV, "We will not only boycott Panchayat elections but also Lok Sabha and assembly elections if the centre doesn't clear its stand on Article 35A and Article 370."

On the last day of August, the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the validity of Article 35A till January, 2019.

The central and Jammu and Kashmir governments together had sought postponement of the hearing owing to the state's panchayat elections, which might go on till December.

Both the governments sought the deferment till Jan or Feb next year.

Article 35A, which was incorporated in the constitution by a 1954 Presidential order, defines the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. It bars people from outside the state to own immovable property in Jammu and Kashmir. It was aimed at protecting the rights and guarantee the unique identity of the people of Jammu-Kashmir.

Under the Jammu-Kashmir constitution, a Permanent Resident is a person who was a state subject on May 14, 1954, or who has been residing in the state for a period of 10 years, and has “lawfully acquired immovable property in the state”.