Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday warned the Centre against scrapping Article 35A. She said that fiddling with the special provision will be akin to set a powder keg on fire and whoever tries to do it will be burnt to ashes.

Speaking at an event in Srinagar to celebrate the PDP’s 20th raising day, Mufti said: “Tinkering with Article 35A will be akin to setting a powder keg on fire. If any hand tries to touch Article 35A, not only that hand but the whole body will be burnt to ashes.” She urged the party workers to prepare for the big battle to protect Article 35A.

The former chief minister also said that she would fight till death if there is an attempt to toy with the J-K’s special status. This is not the first time Mufti has warned the Centre of serious consequences if it moves on Article 35A. In the last few months, the PDP chief has issued several such warnings.

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This year in March, Mufti said that if the scraps article 370 then its relationship with the state will be over. She also said that if the central government removes the article then the country will have to re-negotiate the terms and conditions with Jammu and Kashmir.

Mufti further said that there will be new terms and condition in those negotiations. “So, are you ready (to negotiate) with a Muslim-majority state…would we even want to join…we will have to re-think,” she had said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has repeatedly promised to do away with special provisions — Article 370 and 35A — granted to Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former finance minister Arun Jaitley in the run-up to Lok Sabha polls said that article 35A was the biggest hurdle in the progress of the state and it needs to be scrapped. However, regional parties are dead against any such move.