Addressing a press conference yesterday, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said what Congress opposed was the "high-handedness" with which Article 370 of the Constitution—which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir—was introduced in the Parliament. "Congress voted in favour of the move [revocation of the provision] in Parliament, not against it. Congress feels that Article 370 is a temporary measure, but if a change is to be brought, it has to be with the goodwill of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," the former prime minister said.
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In a statement, Kripashankar Singh, a former Mumbai Congress chief who quit the party in protest against the Congress opposition to the Modi government's move on Article 370, hailed Manmohan Singh for his statement. "I welcome the statement that Congress is not against abrogation of Article 370. Dr Singh also said the Congress voted in favour of the motion in Parliament," he said.
In the same press conference, Singh articulated a softer stance on Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar. This has put the Congress in a dilemma, as they had gone hammer and tongs at a BJP proposal to award Bharat Ratna to Savarkar. “As far as Savarkarji is concerned, you would recall that Indiraji had issued a postal stamp commemorating Savarkarji. So we are not against Savarkarji… we are not in favour of the Hindutva ideology that Savarkarji patronised and stood for. As far as the case of (the Bharat Ratna) being referred to the government… the issue will be settled by the government when his case comes before the committee which looks into these matters,” he said, reported The Indian Express.
With the Maharashtra and Haryana elections just around the corner, the Maharashtra BJP has proposed that Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, be conferred to Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar, along with social reformers like Jyotirao Phule and Savitribhai Phule. The statement was made in the election manifesto released Tuesday, multiple media reports claimed. While such suggestions have been made in the past before, the fresh statements take on a distinctly political garb.
The Congress, later, had taken potshots at the BJP for the demand and sought to know by the saffron outfit is not seeking the country's highest civilian award for Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said the BJP-led government needs to seriously think about the path it wants to take on the issue in the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.
Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, he said Savarkar was tried (and later acquitted) in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case and an inquiry commission had found that possibly the freedom fighter and some of his colleagues had prior knowledge of the plot.
-Inputs from PTI
