SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah took a dig at Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday over his remarks that Article 370 of the Constitution will not be restored, and urged him not to presume what the Supreme Court judges would decide on the matter.
"Dear Ravi Shankar Prasad ji, we don't expect you to restore anything but unless you are suggesting the Supreme Court has surrendered its independence & takes dictation from you please don't presume to know what the Hon judges will decide," Abdullah wrote on Twitter.
Prasad, the Union law minister, on Saturday said the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 will not be restored.
It was removed following a proper constitutional process and both Houses of Parliament approved it with overwhelming numbers, he said.
Revoking it was our commitment to the nation and people have appreciated it, he said.
The minister also hit out at other opposition parties, saying they have maintained a stony silence at her remarks showing serious disrespect to the national flag, even as they criticise the saffron party at the "slightest of issues".
"This is hypocrisy and double standard," Prasad said.
He claimed that the revocation of the Article 370 has led to increased development in the union territory with the weaker sections of society, like SCs, STs, OBCs and women, enjoying the same rights that they do in the rest of the country.
People participated in local polls in Jammu and Kashmir with joy and happiness, he said.
"Some people and families who used to rule with impunity and without accountability are going to have problems," he said.
The Supreme Court is hearing multiple petitions filed by several mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir, including the NC, against the Centre's August 5, 2019 decision to revoke the special status of the erstwhile state.