Senior Congress leader and party's General Secretary Jairam Ramesh asserted on Saturday that party president Mallikarjun Kharge's recent "slip of tongue" accidentally exposed what he termed as the “Modi-Shah game plan” to amend "Article 371" of the Constitution.
While discussing the revocation of Article 370, Kharge inadvertently referred to Article 371 which later sparked controversy. At a poll rally in Rajasthan's Churu, the chief of the grand old party said, "PM Modi came here and said we have lifted (Article) 371. Ok, but what is its relevance here? Go and tell that to Jammu and Kashmir".
Swiftly seizing upon the opportunity, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, took to his X handle, and said that the grand old party has "haunted the nation for decades now" with such blunders.
"I would like to remind the Congress party that J&K is an integral part of India, and every state and citizen has the right over J&K, just as the people of J&K have the right over the rest of India. The Congress doesn’t know that many brave sons of Rajasthan have sacrificed their lives for peace and security in Kashmir. But it is not merely the fault of the Congress leaders. It is mostly the Italian culture of the Congress party that is to blame for not understanding the very idea of India. Such statements hurt every patriotic citizen who cares for the unity and integrity of the nation. People will certainly answer Congress.," Shah said in an X post.
Congress Clarifies Kharge's 'Slip Of Tongue'
Clarifying party president Kharge's statement, Ramesh called it a "slip of the tongue". He insisted that the Congress chief "clearly meant Article 370".
"Amit Shah immediately pounced on the Congress President. But the truth is that Modi does indeed want to change 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," claimed Ramesh.
"Incidentally, Kharge ji was primarily responsible for Article 371-J relating to the former Hyderabad-Karnataka region - which he achieved only after Dr. Manmohan Singh became PM," he added.
“Amit Shah became excited and agitated because Khargeji inadvertently revealed the Modi-Shah strategy on Article 371; now that they have dealt with Article 370,” said the grand old party's general secretary.
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