Complaint lodged against Farooq, Mehbooba at Bihar court

Mehbooba Mufti and Farooq Abdullah

Muzaffarpur: A case has been lodged at a court against former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti over their remarks that abrogating Article 370 and 35A, that grant special status to the state, will lead to its freedom from the country.

Advocate Rajesh Chandra Sharma filed the complaint on Tuesday before the court of Muzaffarpur Chief Judicial Magistrate seeking trial of the chiefs of the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party under Sections 124A (sedition) and 34 (common intent for a criminal act) of the Indian Penal Code. The petitioner has alleged that he felt "hurt" by the statements of Abdullah and Mufti, that appeared in a Hindi daily on April 9. He alleged their remarks could "fan unrest and mutiny" in the country.

Their fierce political rivalry notwithstanding, Abdullah who heads the NC, and Mufti, who leads the PDP, had come out in unison against the BJP's manifesto promise of scrapping Article 370 annul 35A of the Constitution. The two articles grant special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Reacting to the BJP manifesto, Abdullah Monday said abrogating Article 370 will pave way for "freedom" for people of Jammu and Kashmir. Mufti had also said on Monday that abrogating Article 370 would lead to freedom of the state from India.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates