New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s move to set the ball rolling on the abrogation of Article 370 got support from some avowed critics of the administration.
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was the first, tweeting a message soon after Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Rajya Sabha about the government’s decision.
We support the govt on its decisions on J & K. We hope this will bring peace and development in the state.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 5, 2019
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which allied with its rival Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh solely to defeat the BJP in this general election, backed the decision too.
The lone Rajya Sabha member of the BJP’s former ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar, hailed the NDA government’s decision and said it would relieve the residents of Jammu & Kashmir from the tensions they have been facing over the past six decades.
“By implementing this provision, they will be provided equal opportunities as those granted to the other people of the country,” Kumar said.
TDP chief N. Chandrababu Babu has been one of the most vociferous critics of the Modi government since walking out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2018. In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Naidu was the face of the anti-BJP group cobbled together to take on the party.
Scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants autonomy to J&K, has been part of the BJP manifesto since 2014.
The support from opposition parties has come as a shot in the arm for the NDA, which does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
Also read: No debate, no discussion, no dissent, and the Constitution is changed
‘Wholehearted support’
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the YSR Congress Party, opposition parties that have also sided with the government on some other issues, voiced approval as well.
Vijayasai Reddy of the YSR Congress said his party “wholeheartedly” supports the bill.
“How can this country have two constitutions, how can the state have two separate flags, how can a Pakistani become a citizen of India by simply marrying a Kashmiri girl. We had this in J&K… And how can a Kashmiri girl become untouchable if she marries a boy from another part of the country?” he added.
“This is gender discrimination. The leaders of the country have been fighting since 1947 with the hope of unifying India. I am happy that the home minister has fulfilled this,” he said.
The BJD stated that the government’s decision had made J&K an integral part of India in the “real sense”.
“In reality, the state of Jammu and Kashmir only today became an integral part of India. My party supports this resolution,” BJD Rajya Sabha member Prasanna Acharya said in Parliament. “We are a regional party, but for us nation is first.”
Some non-political critics of the Modi government, including “Left liberals” like social media celebrity Dhruv Rathee, also came out in support of the government.
Finally BJP has fulfilled its long time promise!
I support this decision. Ideally, it should bring peace, economic progress and make Kashmiri lives better but it’s impossible to predict the impact of such a historic decision.
Let’s hope for the best.#Article370
— Dhruv Rathee ?? (@dhruv_rathee) August 5, 2019
Also read: Explained: This is what Modi govt has done to scrap Article 370, 35A in Jammu & Kashmir
There is no provision that if a girl marries outside kashmir then she become untouchable, it’s just that she will loose all the privileges as resident of Jammu & kashmir. Jammu & Kashmir is not only state which has 2 flags, even Karnataka also have 2 flags of their own. Please verify your facts and then publish. Readers put all their trust on media to know the truth and it can mislead them.
Commendable. It is above party politics and nation first. Congress had absolute majority during PM Indira Gandhi and then PM Rajiv Gandhi but they missed the bus. Ab pachataye hote kya jab chidiya chug gayi khet. Congress has gradually doomed and in the brink of extinction. Pl rise above politics. The nation has paid the price for 370 and 35A. Enough is enough. Congrats PM Modi.
We should not question CM Arvind Kejriwal. As someone who heads a Union Territory, he understands the constitutional implications better than most other people.