Breaking his silence over the government's move to revoke Article 370, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the nation is made of people and not plots of land. His reaction comes a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced abrogation of Article 370 that granted special autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir.
"National integration isn’t furthered by unilaterally tearing apart J&K, imprisoning elected representatives and violating our Constitution. This nation is made by its people, not plots of land," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
"This abuse of executive power has grave implications for our national security," he added.
The government on Monday revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and proposed that the state be bifurcated into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, a bold decision that seeks to tackle head-on the vexatious 72-year-old problem wracking the soul of the nation.
Rahul Gandhi's reaction comes at a time when the Congress Party launched a strong protest in Parliament. Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari called the decision "unconstitutional". Another Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary said: "I don't think you are thinking about PoK, you violated all rules and converted a state into a Union Territory overnight."
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the decision in the Rajya Sabha, fulfilling the electoral promise of the BJP. While it sent a wave of jubilation among government supporters and others, it also provoked outrage from the NC and the PDP, the principal political parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
Unprecedented in its political courage, the decision to take away the state's special status and treat it like any other in the country is aimed at the ending the decades old separatist movement.
As Shah moved a resolution in the Rajya Sabha that Article 370, which allowed Jammu and Kashmir to have its own Constitution, will no longer be applicable, there were also fears that the government's decisions would change the demographic profile.
PDO chief and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti articulated her apprehensions in a tweet.
"GOIs intention is clear & sinister. They want to change demography of the only Muslim majority state in India, disempower Muslims to the extent where they become second class citizens in their own state," she said.
According to the resolution moved by the Home minister, Article 370 ceases to be operative from Monday itself.
"The president on the recommendation of Parliament is pleased to declare as from 5th of August 2019, all clauses of the said Article 370 shall cease to be operative... ," the resolution stated.
Shah also moved a bill proposing bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir division and Ladakh.
Shah, who introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation bill, said the union territory in Ladakh will have no legislature like Chandigarh. The other union territory of Jammu and Kashmir will have a legislature like Delhi and Puducherry.
The announcement, capping days of uncertainty in Jammu and Kashmir, led to an uproar, in the House and outside it too.
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