Who in Congress has said Article 370 will be restored? Shah spreading lies: Kharge

PTI Pune: AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday contested Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertion that the Congress intends to reinstate Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, and pointed out the contentious provision was repealed by Parliament. He accused the BJP of keeping the Article 370 issue alive merely to create divisions in society. Addressing a press conference in Pune, Kharge accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of abusing the Congress and its senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. “Amit Shah, in his poll rallies, accuses the Congress of spreading lies. (But) He (himself) is saying the Congress wants to bring back Article 370 (in J&K). Tell me, who said that and when? You are raking up an issue. If it (resolution to repeal Article 370) had been already passed in Parliament, why are you raking up the issue again? It means you want to keep the issue alive to divide. If you want to say this, go to Kashmir and say it. Elections are over in Kashmir,” Kharge noted. Article 370 of the Constitution, which provided special status to Jammu & Kashmir, was nullified by the BJP-led central government in August 2019.

The Congress is aligned with the National Conference, which heads the government in J&K. Last week, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly passed a resolution asking the Centre to hold talks with elected representatives for restoration of the erstwhile state’s special status. He backed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s claim that BJP tried to bribe 50 Congress MLAs with Rs 50 crore.