New Delhi: In a major faux pas that left the top Congress leadership red-faced, its leader of the party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday shocked everyone when he asked Union home minister Mr Amit Shah to clarify how the government could scrap Article 370 when India has always maintained that Kashmir was a issue of bilateral dispute between India and Pakistan.
He added that Kashmir is monitored by the United Nations, a point disputed by an aggressive Mr Shah who counter-questioned him, asking him to clarify whether what he was saying was the stand of the Congress.
This self goal by Mr Chowdhury, who had come under-prepared for the important debate, left Congress leader Sonia Gandhi fuming as she turned to her son Rahul Gandhi, who was sitting on the bench behind her, gesturing in surprise. Other Congress members too appeared shocked.
The shocker from Mr Chowdhury came when he accused Mr Shah of breaking all the rules and bringing this Bill. Mr Shah, who had just read the resolution, got up and asked him to mention in detail with evidence what rules had been broken.
Unnerved, Mr Chowd-hury said he was only seeking a clarification on the Kashmir issue. “You say that Kashmir is an internal matter. But it is being monitored by United Nations since 1948…India’s one Prime Minister signed the Simla Agreement while another PM Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee signed the Lahore Declaration. Then how can it be considered as an internal matter is my question? Recently, foreign minister S. Jaishankar told Mr (Michael) Pompeo that it (Kashmir) is a bilateral issue, which has to be resolved. You have to clarify if this is a bilateral or internal issue and if you can do it unilaterally. Will there be no Lahore Agreement in future? This is what we want to know (sic),” said Mr Chowdhury.
India does not accept the utility of the UN Military Observers Group on India and Pakistan that was tasked in 1949 to monitor the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan in J&K. India has always maintained that J&K is an integral part of the country.
