The senior leader of the INC, P. Chidambaram, in a series of tweets on Monday morning, reiterated the Congress Party’s stand on the issue of Jammu Kashmir’s statehood, saying that the Parliament should restore the status quo ante in Jammu Kashmir.
The tweets come 2 days before the much talked about All Party Meeting to be held on 24 June, at the PM’s residence, where 14 politicians from Jammu Kashmir have been invited.
Chidambaram tweeted, “Congress Party’s position, reiterated yesterday, that full Statehood must be restored to J&K should clear any doubt or ambiguity.”
He also added that what was made under the Constitution cannot be unmade by an Act of Parliament misinterpreting and misusing the provisions of the Constitution.
“Please remember that the dismembering of J&K has been challenged in the Supreme Court and the cases are pending for nearly 2 years,” said Chidambaram, also adding, “In the monsoon session, Parliament should repeal the offending laws and restore the status quo ante in J&K.”
Chidambaram claimed that it was the only way to draw the starting line for a political resolution of the Kashmir issue
“J&K was a ‘state’ that signed an Instrument of Accession and acceded to India. It must enjoy that status forever. J&K is not a piece of ‘real estate,” he said, adding “J&K is ‘people’. Their rights and wishes must be respected.”
A dialogue had emerged last week about Congress Party’s stand on the issue, when Digvijay Singh’s conversation with a journalist on Clubhouse, went viral on the social media, where he claimed that the revocation of the Article was an extremely sad decision and that the Congress Party would have a relook on the issue.
This led to a scuffle on social media with the BJP members, where various members of the Congress Party reiterated their position on the issue and said that the CWC resolution dated August 6, 2019, is the official stance of the Congress Party.
The party spokesman, Randeep Surjewala, after the meeting of the party on Sunday, said that the center’s move to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was a “direct attack on democracy and the constitutional principles.”
He also said that the Congress party had issued a resolution on the very next day of the Centre’s decision demanding the restoration of full statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.