A day after Presidential order on Article 370 withdrawing the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to condemn the BJP-led government's move.
"National integration isn't furthered by unilaterally tearing apart J&K, imprisoning elected representatives and violating our Constitution. This nation is made by its people, not plots of land," Gandhi tweeted.
"This abuse of executive power has grave implications for our national security," he said.
National integration isn’t furthered by unilaterally tearing apart J&K, imprisoning elected representatives and violating our Constitution. This nation is made by its people, not plots of land.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 6, 2019
This abuse of executive power has grave implications for our national security.
He also asked that the political leaders in Kashmir who have been arrested or placed under house arrest, be released. On Monday night, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were arrested and placed under preventive detention.
Kashmir’s mainstream political leaders have been jailed at secret locations.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 6, 2019
This is unconstitutional & undemocratic.
It’s also short sighted and foolish because it will allow terrorists to fill the leadership vaccum created by GOI.
The imprisoned leaders must be released.
Gandhi's comments came a day after the government bifurcated Jammu and Kasmir and axed Article 370 which gave the state special status. While on Monday, leader of Congress in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad flayed the government’s move, many Congress leaders welcomed the move, leading to embarrassment for the party.
Asked by the media on the differing stands within the party, Ghulam Nabi stated that the Congress leaders who supported the government’s move can “first study about Kashmir and then stay with the Congress.”
“Those who do not know the history of Jammu and Kashmir and the history of the Congress, I have nothing to do with them. They should first read up the history of the Congress and Jammu and Kashmir and then stay in the Congress,” he told the media on Tuesday.
#WATCH: GN Azad, when asked that some leaders of the party are supporting abrogation of #Article370, says "Jin logon ko J&K ki history ya Congress ki history pata nahi unse mujhe koi lena dena nahi hai. Wo pehle J&K aur Congress ki history padh lein, phir Congress mein rahein." pic.twitter.com/ppRkLBNQia
— ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2019
His remarks came after several party leaders like Janardan Dwivedi, former Lok Sabha member Deepender Singh Hooda, Uttar Pradesh MLA Aditi Singh, as well as Abhishek Manu Singhvi, favoured the government's decision on revoking Article 370 and bifurcating the state.
On Monday, the Congress whip in the Rajya Sabha, Bhubaneswar Kalita, resigned from the party and the Upper House before Union Home Minister Amit Shah proposed the resolution to revoke Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Congress found itself in troubled waters again on Tuesday as the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury triggered controversy when he asked the government whether “Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matter or a bilateral issue.”
"You say it is an internal matter. The UN has been monitoring the situation since 1948. Then there is Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration. Whether this is a bilateral matter or an internal matter...." he asked, as the treasury benches erupted in protest.