'Article 370 Scrapped In Unconstitutional Manner', Says Priyanka In First Reaction To Kashmir Issue

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday termed ‘unconstitutional’ the scrapping of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (PIC/PTI)

New Delhi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday termed ‘unconstitutional’ the scrapping of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. While interacting with mediapersons during her visit to Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra village, she said that the manner in which it has been done is completely unconstitutional and it’s against all the principles of democracy. “There are rules to be followed when such things are done, which were not followed,” she said. "Unlike the BJP where only one voice is heard, in the Congress every voice is given importance and properly discussed to reach a conclusion," she said. Last week, Parliament adopted a resolution approving a government move to scrap provisions of Article 370 which gave J&K a special status under the Constitution and also passed a Bill splitting J&K into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Priyanka visited the Sonbhadra village where 10 tribals were shot dead over a land dispute, nearly a month after the UP administration prevented her from going to the site of the massacre by detaining her in Mirzapur. She covered the distance from Varanasi to Umbha village in Sonbhadra district, about 100 kilometres apart, by road, prompting Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma to say she was pulling off a "political stunt". Shortly after arriving at the Varanasi airport this morning, she tweeted, "Today, I am going to Sonbhadra to meet the brothers-sisters and children of Umbha village, enquire about their well-being and to be part of their struggle." "I had promised the members of affected families of Umbha village, who had come to meet me at Chunar Fort, that I will visit them," she said. Later, the UP Congress tweeted photographs of her reaching the village, where armed men led by a former village pradhan had gunned down 10 Gond tribals when they resited an attempt to take control of the disputed land on July 17.