The Centre’s move to make amendments to J&K’s domicile laws within days of its issuing drew flak from the regional parties including the National Conference (NC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Peoples Conference (PC), on Saturday.

“It’s high time people of J&K get to decide the laws that will govern them rather than being subjected to the whims and fancies of the Centre, where orders are issued in the morning and changes issued in the evening. Restore statehood and conduct elections in J&K,” said former chief minister and NC vice president Omar Abdullah.

NC spokesman Imarn Nabi Dar termed the amendments to domicile law “another example of Central governments toying around with J&K and its people”. “There is not an iota of doubt that domicile law will change the demography of J&K and will essentially rob the rights of locals to jobs here,” Mr. Dar said.

Castigating the ruling BJP, PDP spokesman Firdous Tak said, “The domicile legislation, even in its amended form, portrays the real intention behind the scrapping of J&K’s special status. A law that was to govern 12 million population of J&K was so offhandedly drafted that the Union government had to change it within 72 hours. Local educated and uneducated youth are robbed of their rights in the middle of the night with the stroke of pen, without their consultation.”

Sajad Lone headed PC related the amendments to “monkey dance”. “The sensitive and cherished aspect of sub-identity remains unguarded. This perhaps sums up the new state of affairs: ‘Take a pound from you and throw some pennies back at you subject to you enacting a monkey dance’,” said PC spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu.

J&K Congress chief G.A. Mir described the new domicile laws another bluff with the youth. “The amendments are cosmetic. It’s a move bereft of any guarantee against demographic changes here,” Mr. Mir said.

BJP, JKAP welcomes move

Meanwhile, Jammu Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president Altaf Bukhari has welcomed the the amendments.

“The JKAP will continue with its efforts to get this law revisited in its entirety to remove the remaining loopholes till it satisfies the aspirations of people of J&K,” said Mr. Bukhari.

“I extend my gratitude to Union Home Minster Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. It’s their personal intervention that has made the much needed amendments to domicile law possible in a very short span of time,” he added.

Kashmir BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur praised the party’s top leadership “for understanding the concerns and needs of people, especially youth of Kashmir”.

“Hectic lobbying and efforts of J&K-based BJP leaders succeeded in persuading to amend the domicile law, in which all jobs have been kept reserved for the J&K youth in government sectors,” said Mr. Thakur.