Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Tuesday questioned the legal validity of the new Jammu and Kashmir Domicile rules framed by the centre and demanded their immediate revocation.

In a statement issued here, the party said that both the Domicile law and associated rules prescribing the procedure for grant of domicile certificate had been made under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019, which had been challenged in number of petitions before the Supreme Court.
“The constitutional validity of the Act impugned and the petitions under consideration of the Court, the Government of India in tune with the universally accepted principle of “constitutional proprietary”, is under an obligation to desist from exercising powers under the impugned Act including the power to promulgate Domicile law and Rules in question, ” the statement said.
The NC said that the party had “taken a principled stand on the floor of the Parliament and outside that the decisions of 5th August 2019 taking away special status and constitutional guarantees available to Jammu and Kashmir and dividing and downgrading the State are unconstitutional, unilateral as also against the federalism, the basic structure of the Constitution”.
The post 5th August events in Jammu and Kashmir, it said, “also indicate massive public disapproval of the decisions in all the three regions”.

The statement said that the Domicile Order and Rules would not be acceptable at any point of time as the the measures were “aimed at disempowering the people of Jammu and Kashmir and effecting demographic change”.
The timing of the domicile law and the rules in question were also “grossly inappropriate and unethical inasmuch as when entire mankind including the people of Jammu and Kashmir are in complete lockdown engaged in battle of survival against Coronavirus, the Government of India has found this opportune time to push in the measures palpably anti people and unconstitutional”, the NC statement said.
It further alleged that the Domicile Order as well as Procedure are “anti people as not only because these are ambiguous and misleading opening flood gates but these would push people with valid state subject certificates to uncertainty and hardship as the benefits would not be available unless they obtain Domicile Certificates under the Rules”.

The Party said it will continue its struggle through all peaceful means for realisation of political aspirations of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and urged the Government of India to immediately revoke the Domicile Order and Procedure as these measures will widen the gulf between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the Country and add to alienation.

Reader correspondent