‘Conspiracy Against Kashmir’: PM Modi Slams J&K Assembly’s Article 370 Resolution

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday criticised the Congress-National Conference alliance after the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed a resolution calling for the restoration of the special status that the state had under Article 370 of the Constitution.

The resolution, which was moved by National Conference leader and Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Chowdhary, was passed on Wednesday.

In his remarks, Modi reminded the audience that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government had abrogated Article 370 in August 2019, leading to the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

At an election rally in Dhule, Maharashtra, Modi described the resolution as part of a "conspiracy" against the Union Territory. “As soon as Congress and the INDI alliance got the chance to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir, they started their conspiracies against Kashmir,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister further questioned the resolution, asking, "Will the country accept this?" He pointed out that banners were displayed in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in support of Article 370, and BJP members were removed from the House for protesting against the move. “When the BJP MLAs protested with all their might, they were forcibly thrown out of the Assembly,” Modi added.

Modi emphasised that the resolution would not be accepted, asserting, “Only Dr Ambedkar’s Constitution will be followed in Jammu and Kashmir. No power in the world can restore Article 370.”

The resolution was passed during the first session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly following recent elections, the first in a decade and the first since the abrogation of Article 370. On Thursday, tensions flared in the Assembly after independent MLA Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh, brother of jailed Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid, unfurled a banner calling for the restoration of Article 370 and the release of political prisoners. BJP legislators rushed to the Well of the House, trying to seize the banner, while opposition leaders like Sajad Lone of the People’s Conference and Waheed Para of the Peoples Democratic Party joined in support of Sheikh.