SRINAGAR: Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, said the government’s decision today to scrap Article 370, is a “total betrayal of trust” of the people and that it amounted to “aggression”. Omar Abdullah is among those placed under house arrest since Sunday night. Home Minister Amit Shah informed parliament that Article 370 – which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir – has been abolished with the president signing an order that comes into effect “at once.” Jammu and Kashmir will also be “reorganized,” said Mr Shah, with the state’s bifurcation into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Mr Abdullah of the National Conference is among those placed under house arrest since late last night. “The government of India (GOI)’s unilateral and shocking decisions today are a total betrayal of the trust that the people of Jammu & Kashmir had reposed in India when the State acceded to it in 1947. The decisions will have far-reaching and dangerous consequences . This is an aggression against people of the State as had been warned by an all-parties meeting in Srinagar yesterday,” Mr Abdullah said in a statement. Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah and Sajad Lone, the three most prominent politicians from Jammu and Kashmir, were placed under house arrest after midnight on Sunday in an unprecedented lockdown that follows a massive security build-up and a first-ever government advisory asking Amarnath pilgrims and tourists to leave Kashmir immediately.Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti dubbed the decision to scrap Article 370 as “the darkest day in Indian democracy”. Political leaders in the valley were united in their fight to preserve Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
