Kashmiris welcome abrogation of Article 370, Congress party opposes move
07 Aug 2019
1
Locals in the Valley have hailed the centre’s decision to lift Article 370 status to Jammu and Kashmir that only served the interests of the ruling class, with many saying that the situation in the Valley is very much normal and allayed rumours of unrest and strikes in the Valley.
A Times Now report citing a Kashmiri local on the abrogation of Article 370 said the abolition of special status for Jammu and Kashmir was the right thing and that everything in the Valley remained normal as the imposition of Section 144 effectively silenced rumour mongers and stone-pelters.
On the other hand, the Kashmiri local is reported to have said the lifting of Article 370 will only bring benefits to the common man. “Now there will be jobs and other things. I only see advantages in this.”
People of Ladakh also welcomed the centre’s decision to do away with the special state status for J&K and capital erupted in celebrations wth its new status of a union territory.
However, the Congress Party has decided to remain opposed to the BJP government’s move saying it went against the constitutional provisions and that the decision came at a time when the state was under central rule.
The Congress Working Committee decision came hours after several Congress leaders, including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Deepender Hooda and Milind Deora, differed from some of the senior leaders’ view on the government’s decision to render Article 370 ineffective and turn Jammu and Kashmir into a union territory.
Earlier in the day, several leaders – some with riders and some without them – openly stated their support to the government’s move. While Scindia said that he supported the “full integration” of J&K into the Union of India, Deora called for all political parties to set aside their “ideological fixations” and stop turning the abrogation of Article 370 into a “liberal vs conservative debate”. Hooda, on the other hand, supported the government’s sudden action because he believed this may help consolidate India’s territorial integrity.
However, putting rest the confusion in the party over the Kashmir issue, the CWC met late on Tuesday evening to officially deplore the government’s action as “unilateral, brazen and totally undemocratic” – a dictatorial move to dismember Jammu and Kashmir “by misinterpreting the provisions of the Constitution”.
