'Ideology of today's Congress suicidal,' says party's Rajya Sabha chief whip on Article 370 stand

Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha, Bhubaneswar Kalita, who resigned from the party over its stand on removal of the Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday said that the “ideology of today’s Congress is suicidal” and that the party’s current leadership is working towards its destruction.

Kalita said that he was asked to issue whip on Kashmir issue but the truth is that the atmosphere has changed and issuing the whip would have been against the wishes of the people.

“From the ideology of today’s Congress, it seems that the party is committing suicide and I don’t want to be part of it. I will not follow this whip and resign from the Congress,” he said in a statement shared by Prasar Bharati’s news service.

He said that the leadership of the Congress is working towards the self-destruction of the party and now no one can save it. The severe criticism from its own chief whip in Rajya Sabha has come as a big embarrassment for the Congress party, who is opposing the Narendra Modi government’s move to scrap the special status and bifurcation of Kashmir against the wishes of the people of the state.

Congress MP Bhubaneswar Kalita resigns from Rajya Sabha over his party's stand on Kashmir issue. pic.twitter.com/OTjKcJI2oe

— Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) August 5, 2019

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The government abolished Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and moved a separate bill to bifurcate the state into two separate union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, amid massive opposition uproar in Rajya Sabha.

Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution in the House to abolish Article 370 after the President issued a notification in this regard and also moved the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019. He said the UT in Ladakh will have no legislature like Chandigarh while the other UT of Jammu and Kashmir will have a legislature like Delhi and Puducherry.

The Home Minister's announcement evoked strong protests from the opposition with leaders of Congress, TMC, DMK, NCP and Left raising slogans and storming the well of the House. However, some regional parties like BSP, BJD, TRS and AIADMK extended full support to the resolution and the bill while NDA constituent JD(U) walked out.