NC MP files 'allegiance' affidavit after SC nudge

National Conference (NC) parliamentarian Akbar Lone on Tuesday filed a two-paragraph affidavit in the Supreme Court, choosing to refrain from stating that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India even as he reiterated his oath as a member of Parliament to preserve and uphold the provisions of the Constitution of India and to protect the territorial integrity of the nation.

- Utkarsh Anand

 

Lone filed his affidavit a day after the top court directed him to submit a categorical affidavit pledging allegiance to the country’s sovereignty after it received complaints that Lone in 2018 raised “Pakistan zindabad” slogans in the Jammu & Kashmir assembly.

The NC MP is one of the chief petitioners before the Constitution bench, which is hearing a clutch of petitions against the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 that granted J&K special status and restructured the state into two Union territories.