NEW DELHI, Dec 2:
BJP today rejected suggestions that it has softened its stand on Article 370, saying it stood firm on its demand that the provision giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir should be abrogated.
Supporting Narendra Modi’s demand for a “rational” debate on Article 370, Leaders of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj said the party has not softened on the issue and Modi has only said what Shyama Prasad Mookerjee had earlier stated.
“It would be incorrect for anyone to interpret BJP’s challenge for a debate on this issue as a softening of stand on Article 370,” Jaitley said.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said, “Modi has asked what have been the benefits of Article 370. This is not being soft on the issue. Modi questioned whether there has been any gain from Article 370 and that this issue should be debated.”
The Gujarat Chief Minister, who triggered a political row by seeking a debate on Article 370 questioning what benefits it has given to the State and its people, sought to shift the focus, saying he demands a “rational” debate on it and other issues including suffering of Kashmiri pandits.
“We need rational & focused debate not only on 370 but other issues relating to J&K, including suffering of sections of J&K society,” Modi said on Twitter.
Seeking to take credit for raising the issue, he said, “Glad that after my call for a debate on Article 370, it is being widely debated among people & across TV, social media.”
“Wounds of suffering caused to various communities in J&K are still fresh in our hearts. We need to talk about uniting instead of dividing.
“No one can ignore sufferings of the Kashmiri Pandits for so many years. We remain committed to working towards justice for the community.
“(Arun) Jaitley ji has brought out the discriminatory attitude in J&K…Said this has no place in law,” Modi tweeted.
He said, it is said about Jammu and Kashmir that “if there is heaven on earth, it is here. We all need to work to make J&K a heaven of peace, integration & diversity.”
Jaitley, however, attacked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his party as well as PDP for taking an “anti-daughter” position in J&K on the issue of equal rights to them, saying both NC and PDP had opposed the grant of equal rights to women once they married outside the State.
“Can the Chief Minister Shri Omar Abdullah ignore a dubious track record of his party on this issue and indulge in discourteous tweets on the subject?
“It must be accepted by one and all that such discriminatory provisions which also compromise on the right to live with dignity have no place in Indian law,” Jaitley said in an article.
He said Jammu & Kashmir’s integration with India is an essential part of the ideology of Bhartiya Jana Sangh and now the BJP.
“The BJP believes that Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee’s vision of complete integration of Jammu & Kashmir was the correct vision for India.
“The Nehruvian vision of a separate status has given rise to aspirations for the pre-1953 status, self-rule and even Azadi. The desire of proponents of these three ideas has weakened the constitutional and political relationship between Jammu & Kashmir and the rest of the country. The journey of separate status has been towards separatism and not towards integration,” he said.
I&B Minister Manish Tewari, however, accused BJP of doing a “turnaround” as it had made no mention of abrogation of Article 370 in its vision document released in the run up to 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
“(20)04 vision document of BJP no mention of abrogation of Article 370. In fact, it recognises its existence. (2)013 they want to debate Double Speak!,” Tewari said. (PTI)
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