New Delhi, April 8: Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, criticized the Congress on Sunday, alleging that the party has consistently failed to recognize Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India. Poonawalla’s remarks came after Mallikarjun Kharge, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public rally, mistakenly referred to the scrapping of Article 370 as ‘Article 371’.
Poonawalla expressed dismay over Kharge’s error, stating, “It is shameful that Kharge Ji does not know that the article that was abrogated was 370, not 371.” He further asserted, “These people always kept Jammu and Kashmir isolated. They (Congress) never considered Jammu and Kashmir as a part of India.”
Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah shared a video on social media where Kharge was seen stating, “They (the BJP) are coming here and saying that they removed 371. What does it have to do with the people here? It’s okay if you go and speak about that in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Shah criticized Congress for such errors, mentioning that they have had detrimental effects on the nation for decades. He also attributed these mistakes to what he described as the “Italian culture” within the Congress party, suggesting a lack of understanding of the essence of India.
In response to Shah’s remarks, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that Amit Shah reacted strongly because Kharge inadvertently revealed the Modi-Shah administration’s plans regarding Article 371 concerning Nagaland.
“Amit Shah got all excited and agitated because Khargeji inadvertently exposed the Modi-Shah gameplan on Article 371; now that they have gotten Article 370 out of the way,” Ramesh said in a post on social media.
While acknowledging Kharge’s slip of the tongue, Ramesh redirected attention to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggesting that Modi indeed intends to amend various articles, including Article 371-A relating to Nagaland, Article 371-B relating to Assam, Article 371-C relating to Manipur, Article 371-F relating to Sikkim, Article 371-G relating to Mizoram, and Article 371-H relating to Arunachal Pradesh.
The exchange highlights the ongoing political discourse surrounding the constitutional amendments in India and the differing interpretations and accusations between political parties.
