After the Supreme Court, on Monday, upheld the central government’s decision of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress launched an attack on the BJP demanding the immediate restoration of statehood to J&K.
Many senior Congress leaders declared that the BJP is afraid of holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Congress leader and senior advocate, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, targeted the BJP government for not holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir for over half a decade. He said that the Modi government is running a “remote control” government in J&K and questioned why “the BJP is afraid of elections in the J&K”.
“Elections have not been held in Jammu and Kashmir after 2014. Democracy and not autocracy is the demand of every citizen of J&K. J&K has been run by a selected government for almost over half a decade and not by an elected government,” Singhvi told ANI on Monday.
In addition to Singhvi, several other political leaders from the party expressed their disappointment on the decision announced by the apex court on Monday.
The Judgement needs a careful study, Chidambaram said, noting “prima facie we respectfully disagree with judgment on the manner in which Art 370 was abrogated”.
He said the Congress has always demanded restoration of full statehood of J and K and “we welcome the SC verdict in this regard”.
Full statehood must be restored immediately. The aspirations of people of Ladakh must also be fulfilled. We welcome the SC direction to hold assembly elections. However, we believe elections should be held immediately and there is no reason to wait till September 30, 2024,” the senior Congress leader said.
When elections are held, the people of J&K will have the opportunity to express their views on the crucial questions that we debated in the SC. An opportunity that has been denied to them so far,” he said.
“We are also disappointed that SC did not decide the question of dismembering the state and reducing its status to two union territories. That question is being reserved for adjudication in a suitable case in future,” he said.