New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 5, 2023 17:56 IST
The affidavit submitted by National Conference MP Mohammed Akbar Lone, one of the main petitioners against the scrapping of Article 370, is a “farce” and “adds insult to injury”, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta told India Today on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Supreme Court had asked Lone to file an affidavit to say that he unconditionally accepts that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and that he owes allegiance to the Constitution. The directive – issued during a hearing on Article 370 – came after the Centre flagged Lone’s pro-Pakistan slogans in the J&K assembly in 2018.
Lone’s affidavit, dated September 5, doesn’t include a part of what the Supreme Court had asked for. It reads:
- “I am a responsible and dutiful citizen of the Union of India. I have exercised my right to approach this Hon’ble Court through Article 32 of the Constitution.”
- “I reiterate the oath taken while being sworn in as Member of Parliament to preserve and uphold the provisions of the Constitution of India and to protect the territorial integrity of the Nation.”
Reacting to the affidavit, the Solicitor General said, “I informed the court that the affidavit adds insult to injury already caused to the nation. I requested the court to read what Mr Lone has chosen not to write in the affidavit. This affidavit is a farce.”
Lone had shouted “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans on the floor of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly when he was an MLA from 2002 to 2018.
After the court’s directive on Monday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that he would not represent Lone if he did not file the affidavit as sought by the bench.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre in the Supreme Court, had also said that Lone should file an affidavit in court.
“Lone should file an affidavit in the Supreme Court asserting that he owes allegiance to the Constitution of India and opposes secessionist forces and terrorism,” Mehta told the five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
After hearing a batch of petitions against the provisions of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the 5-judge Supreme Court bench on Tuesday reserved an order.
The abrogation of Article 370 split the erstwhile state of J&K into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
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