Veteran Cong leader hails move to make Ladakh UT, scrapping of Article 35A
Congress leader Karan Singh, whose father Maharaja Hari Singh signed the terms of Kashmir’s accession in 1947, on Thursday said he did not agree with all-round condemnation of the Centre’s latest decisions on Jammu & Kashmir.
The veteran Congress leader pointed out several positives points, including grant of Union Territory status for Ladakh, scrapping of Article 35A, future delimitation of constituencies as a result of the State’s bifurcation.
However, he did not comment directly on Article 370 and also called for releasing the leaders of legitimate political parties in Jammu & Kashmir and initiate a broad-based political dialogue with them. His son and Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh, while supporting Karan Singh’s statement, said this is the beginning of a new era for people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Vikramaditya said he fully supports the step for full integration of J&K State into the Union of India and its reorganisation. Vikramaditya had unsuccessfully contested as the Congress candidate the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat against Union Minister
Jitendra Singh .
The statements by these Congress leaders and the erstwhile royal family that once ruled Jammu & Kashmir came after a host of party leaders went against the party’s stand on J&K while welcoming the Government’s step in bifurcating the State and abrogating provisions of Article 370.
Karan Singh’s statement comes two days after the Congress Working Committee deplored the manner in which the Government stripped Jammu & Kashmir of its special status by scrapping provisions of Article 370, and bifurcated the State.
“I personally do not agree with a blanket condemnation of these developments. There are several positive points,” Singh said in the statement here, referring to the Government decisions.
“Ladakh’s emergence as UT is to be welcomed...The gender discrimination in Article 35A needed to be addressed as also the long-awaited enfranchisement of West Pakistan refugees and reservation for Scheduled Tribes will be welcomed,” said Singh, son of a former J&K ruler, the late Maharaja Hari Singh.
He also welcomed the fact that the bifurcation of the State meant there will be delimitation in future. “There will be a fresh delimitation which, for the first time, will ensure and fair division of political power between the Jammu & Kashmir regions.”
As Karan Singh broadly backed the fresh developments in the State, of which he was the first and the last Sadr-e-Riyasat, he refrained from directly opposing or backing the abrogation of provisions of Article 370, which repealed J&K’s special status.
He called for a political dialogue in the Valley and said the two main parties -- Peoples Democratic Party and National Conference -- of Kashmir should not be called “anti-nationals”.
“This is the beginning of a new era for all of us in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The full integration of J&K State into the Union of India and its reorganisation, is indeed a step I fully support. Now, women and minority communities in J&K will enjoy equal rights under the Constitution of India. Us citizens of Jammu & Kashmir must now co-exist as equal partners and use this change as an opportunity to create a better future for the coming generations. I look forward towards a new J&K with a progressive and peaceful environment, with greater business and industrial development, private investment and greater employment opportunities for our youth. I would eventually hope to see a full statehood for Jammu & Kashmir,” Vikramaditya said in a separate statement. He also said he endorses the views expressed by his father Karan Singh.
Former Rajya Sabha member Karan Singh earlier acknowledged that the “unusually fast developments in Parliament caught everyone by surprise” but that these moves appear to enjoy overwhelming support across the country.