Cong calls senior leaders’ meet to discuss action plan on abrogation of Article 370

The Congress party has called a meeting of its general secretaries and other senior leaders to discuss the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, to chalk out their next plan of action after opposing the government on this issue in Parliament.

KC Venugopal, general secretary of the party has sent a letter to general secretaries, all state unit chiefs, legislative party leaders, all Congress MPs, party’s departments and other cells to meet at the party’s ‘war room’, 15 Gurdwara Rakabganj Road.

On Wednesday, the party’s highest executive body, Congress Working Committee, had passed a resolution deploring the “unilateral, brazen and totally undemocratic manner” in which Article 370 of the Constitution was abrogated.

“Article 370 was conceived and crafted by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, assisted by N. Gopalaswamy Iyengar and V.P. Menon. Article 370 is the Constitutional recognition of the terms of the Instrument of Accession between the State of Jammu & Kashmir and India. It deserved to be honoured until it was amended, after consultation with all sections of the people, and strictly in accordance with the Constitution of India,” the principal opposition party said.

It has accused the BJP of doing something that will have “grave implications” going well beyond J&K and that may call into question the very idea of India being a Union of States. “Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India as one State and no government has the power to change its status or divide it or reduce any part of it to a Union Territory,” said the Congress.

The party may reiterate that it pledges to stand with the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh and strategize to fight the BJP while reaching out to the people of J&K.

First Published: Aug 08, 2019 00:05 IST