J K News Today
Jammu, October 23:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that it was his government that did away with the Article 370, ending years of wait of the nation for such a huge step.
“ We had promised to abolish Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said and asked a rally at Sasaram in Bihar , the state that is going to polls , and answered,” yes, we did,” to the thunderous applause from the audience .
He charged the opposition with having claimed that they were saying that they would reverse it if they come to power .
Modi was referring to the abolition of the Article 370 on August 5 last year that his government did , and at the same time there was an unspoken reference to the Gupkar Declaration of August 22, 2020, in which six Kashmir-centric parties declared that they would fight for the restoration of the special status and the original statehood that has been split into two Union Territories of J&K, and Ladakh.
These parties’ stance has been supported by Congress leader P Chidambaram who endorsed the Gupkar Declaration.
Modi was taking a dig at Congress and other opposition groups that are talking of reversing the August 5 decision.
Prime Minister’s reference to Article 370 has brought Kashmir yet again into poll campaign.
There are lot many Bihari migrant labourers who have been working in J&K, and the mention of the abrogation of Article 370 was to convey a strong message that they were free to go to J&K, pick up their rights as equal citizens. These rights were not available to non-permanent residents of J&K as long as Article 370 was in the constitution protecting the special status of the erstwhile state.
