New Delhi: A letter purportedly written by the Congress’ whip in the Rajya Sabha, Bhubaneshwar Kalita, claims that he resigned from the party and the upper house of Parliament due to its stance on the bill to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir.
“Today the Congress party asked me to issue a whip on the Kashmir issue,” the letter reads. “But the thing is that the mood of the nation has changed and it is against the wishes of the people.”
Kalita, however, told ThePrint that he has not written the letter and would reveal the reasons for quitting the party over the next few days. He added that his resignation from the Rajya Sabha has been accepted by the chairman of the upper house.
Kalita, a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam, announced his decision to step down on Twitter, shortly after a meeting of Congress MPs was held in Parliament House.
I have resigned from the Rajya Sabha membership today. #Assam
— Bhubaneswar Kalita (@BKalitaAssam) August 5, 2019
The meeting was held before Home Minister Amit Shah announced in Rajya Sabha Monday that the “special status” granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 had been scrapped,
Shah also announced bifurcation of the state with Ladakh division to now become a Union Territory without a legislature, and Jammu and Kashmir to be one with a legislature.
Also read: Kejriwal, BSP and ‘Left liberals’: Modi govt critics who are backing Article 370 move
The ‘Kalita letter’
The letter, purportedly written by Kalita, terms the Congress’ stance on the scrapping of Article 370 and Article 35A as an instance of the party leadership working to “destroy it”.
“A look at Congress’ thought process shows it’s clearly suicidal,” the letter reads. “I do not agree with them and am resigning from the party.”
The letter quotes Kalita as having said that former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was opposed to Article 370 as well.
The Congress has been vociferously opposing the abrogation of Article 370, which provides special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The party’s leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, called the bifurcation a “decapitation of the head” of India while former finance minister P. Chidambaram called the resolution an “unconstitutional monstrosity”.
Also read: Modi govt wanted to scrap Article 370 in February. Pulwama CRPF attack forced postponement
Congress has been working against the mood which will lead to total dissolution of the party. Indians tolerance has finished now.