Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): During a public meeting for BJP candidate Yogendra Chandolia from the North-West Delhi seat, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, criticized the opposition party Congress and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He claimed they made a historic mistake by introducing Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Chauhan also criticized Nehru for calling off the war three days early, implying it was a major error.
In his pointed remarks against Congress and former PM Nehru, BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chauhan stated, "It was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress' idea to introduce Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, despite Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's opposition. Also, the former PM made a historic blunder by declaring a ceasefire when our troops were fighting against Pakistan. If he hadn't stopped the war for just three days, the entire Kashmir region would be ours, and we would only need to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)." Meanwhile, he also hailed Prime Minister Modi and the BJP government for abrogating Article 370 from the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
"The lapse of introducing articles 370 and 35A by the Congress and former PM Nehru have vanished by the efforts of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP Government and now only PoK is left and we will definitely reclaim it." Article 370 guaranteed special status to Jammu and Kashmir, allowing it to have its own constitution and autonomous status. It also restricted Parliament's legislative powers in relation to the state.
The abrogated article 35A of the Indian Constitution empowered the state of Jammu and Kashmir the power to define permanent residents and give them special rights and privileges. These rights included the ability to purchase land, receive benefits in health care and education and seek state government jobs.
Article 35A was added to the Constitution in 1954 through the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, which was issued by President Rajendra Prasad under Article 370.
Earlier, on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress party and the Gandhi family over amending the Constitution during their tenure, saying that the four generations of the Congress family have insulted the Indian Constitution from time to time.
Prime Minister Modi said that four members of the Gandhi family, including former Prime Ministers Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi fiddled with the Constitution for their own political goals.
