Article 370: Congress Divided Over Jammu And Kashmir Issue

NEW DELHI: The Congress appears to be divided over the Jammu and Kashmir issue what with senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Anil K. Shastri on Tuesday urging his party to sense the mood of people on the Modi government’s decision to revoke Article 370 on Jammu and Kashmir, recalling the party opposed Mandal commission and lost ground in north India and should not risk now of losing India.

“Congress must sense the mood of the people and then take a stand. The people are totally with the government on this issue. We opposed Mandal and lost Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and should not risk now of losing India,” Shastri said in a tweet.

He was referring to the implementation of the recommendations of Mandal Commission which back-fired for the Congress in the Hindi heartlands of U.P. and Bihar in early 1990s.

Former MP Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday joined a number of other party leaders in backing the Centre’s move to abrogate Article 370 even as former President Rahul Gandhi and the party opposed the government’s Mission Kashmir.

Before Scindia, other young Congress leaders such as Deepender Hooda, Jaiveer Shergill, former Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora, as well as Kirti Azad, Shatrughan Sinha and Rae Bareli MLA Aditi Singh had come out in support of revoking Article 370.

Gandhi, meanwhile, has slammed the move, saying that abuse of executive power has grave implications for national security. He also termed the arrest of Kashmiri leaders as unconstitutional and undemocratic.

Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P. Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal too had opposed the move in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

On the other hand, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) met in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the Centre’s decision to revoke Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation into two Union Territories.

The meeting was attended by outgoing Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ahmed Patel, Priyanka Gandhi, Harish Rawat, P. Chidambaram, A.K. Antony, Veerapa Moily, Deepender Singh Hooda and K.C. Venugopal, among others. (IANS)

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