Claiming that there were voices in Jammu and Kashmir who believed that the abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution will be reinstated, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday dismissed former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s views on the matter as merely his “personal opinion”.
Mufti was reacting to remarks made by Azad at a rally on on Sunday where he said removal of article 370 required a two-thirds majority in Parliament which he did not expect the Congress to get.
I will not ‘mislead’ people on the issue of removal of article 370, Azad had said. “It’s his personal opinion…Congress had raised its voice against the British and stopped them. Similarly, there are voices in J&K who believe 370 will be reinstated,” former chief minister Mufti told to the agencies.
Attacking the BJP, Mufti said, ” Removal of article 370 did not solve the Kashmir issue but it further complicated it. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sir Syed Khan, Subash Chandra Bose, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh fought against the British when there was this dilemma that we cannot fight against the British. Likewise, we will fight against BJP and we will end the excesses committed by BJP here. We have a positive mindset”.
To emphasise her point, Mufti sought to point to instances where events considered unlikely happened over a period of time. ” Did it ever cross our mind, that LK Advani will shake hands with incarcerated leader Yasin Malik, Modiji will go to Pakistan to attend Nawaz Sharif’s grand daughter’s wedding and Muzaffarabad road will open? Likewise, article 370 will be reinstated, ” Mehbooba added.
Earlier on Sunday, addressing his first political rally in Jammu, since resigning from Congress, Ghulam Nabi Azad had said,” I will not ‘mislead’ people on the issue of removal of article 370. Removal of article 370 requires a 2/3rd majority in Parliament. I don’t see Congress getting 350-360 seats in my lifetime.’’
Azad further said, “I have not decided upon the name of my party yet. The people of J-K will decide the name and the flag of the party. I’ll give a Hindustani name to my party that everyone can understand. My party will focus on the restoration of full statehood, right to land and employment to native domicile. “
Azad had further attacked Congress and had said, “Congress was made by us by our blood, not by computer, not by Twitter. People are trying to defame us but their reach is limited to computers and tweets. That is the reason Congress is not visible on the ground. “
