Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram pitched for greater autonomy for the restive Jammu & Kashmir yet again on Saturday, drawing stinging criticism from the BJP, with Union minister Smriti Irani calling it "shocking and shameful".
"The demand in the Kashmir Valley is to respect the letter and spirit of Article 370, that means they want greater autonomy. My interactions in J&K led me to the conclusion that when they ask for azadi, mostly, I am not saying all... The overwhelming majority, they want autonomy," he told reporters in Gujarat's Rajkot.
"Yes, I do," Chidambaram said when he was asked if he still thinks that Jammu and Kashmir should be given greater autonomy.
Chidambaram had in July 2016 advocated greater autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir, saying India should restore the "grand bargain" under which Kashmir had acceded by granting a large degree of autonomy to it. He had warned that otherwise the country will have to pay a "heavy price".
Reacting sharply, the BJP said, it was not surprising to see Chidambaram make such comments given his leader supported those who gave slogan of "Bharat tere tukde honge", an apparent reference to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi backing those who protested the arrest of student leader Kanhaiya Kumar in the JNU row.Kumar, then the JNUSU president, and a few others were arrested on the charge of sedition after anti-national slogans were allegedly raised at an event on the campus in February last year to protest the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
"Shocking that PC bats for separatists & 'azadi' but then not surprising given that their leader supported 'Bharat tere tukde honge' naara!"