The difference of opinion on the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill has led to a monumental problem within the Congress cadre with a number of party leaders going against the party’s stand in Parliament prompting the leadership to convene an urgent Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting late on Tuesday evening.
After a three-hour long CWC meeting, which saw presence of ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the party passed a resolution terming the abrogation of Article 370 as “unilateral, brazen and totally undemocratic”.
“What the BJP Government accomplished in the Rajya Sabha and today in the Lok Sabha has grave implications going well beyond J&K and calls into question the very idea of India being a Union of States,” it said.
On a day when Rahul alleged the Government’s move was “short-sighted and foolish” as it would allow terrorists to fill up the leadership vacuum created by the Central Government in J&K, senior Congress leaders Janardan Dwivedi, Anil Shastri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Deepender Hooda, Aditi Singh extended support to the
Modi Government’s abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcation of the State.
Congress’ chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Bhubaneshwar Kalita on Monday quit his membership to the Upper House of Parliament over the issue after the party asked him to issue a whip to all members to opposing the Bill. Top Congress leadership was also peeved at the comments of the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, for questioning whether Jammu & Kashmir was an internal matter as it was being monitored by the United Nations.
In an embarrassment to the Congress, senior leaders like Janardan Dwivedi, a close confidante of Nehru-Gandhi family and Anil Shastri said the grand old party should sense the mood of the people before taking a stand against the Government’s move on J&K.
Dwivedi welcomed the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370, saying even though it came late, a historical mistake had been corrected.
Scindia said he supported the move on Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh and the State’s full integration into the Union of India, adding that it was in the interest of the country.
“I support the move on #JammuAndKashmir & #Ladakh and its full integration into union of India. Would have been better if constitutional process had been followed. No questions could have been raised then. Nevertheless, this is in our country’s interest and I support this,” he said on Twitter.
Shastri also took to Twitter, “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 UP and Bihar and should not risk now of losing India.” Hooda contended that the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir “is in the interest of national integrity”.
On his part, Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora said it was “very unfortunate” that Article 370 was being converted into a “liberal vs conservative debate”. “Parties should put aside ideological fixations & debate what’s best for India’s sovereignty and federalism, peace in J&K, jobs for Kashmiri youth and justice for Kashmiri Pandits,” he said in a tweet.
“Abolishing Article 370 of the Indian Constitution could well be dubbed Modi Sarkar 2.0’s demonetisation moment. For the sake of peace and development in Jammu & Kashmir, I hope this decision plays out more favourably than demonetisation did,” Deora also took to social media to express his views.
Hooda said, “I have always maintained that Article 370 should be scrapped. It has no place in the 21st century. Abrogation of this Article is in the interest of national integrity and the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. However, the onus of peaceful implementation of this transition in a trustworthy environment lies on the incumbent government.”
Congress MLA from Rae Bareli Aditi Singh also said on Twitter, “United we stand! Jai Hind. #Article370.” She termed it a historic decision and urged people not to politicise it. Singh’s Assembly segment -- Rae Bareli Sadar -- is a part of UPA chairperson and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency.