On the occasion of a meeting in Indonesia, Congress leader Salman Khurshid, a member of the all-party delegation on the Operation Sindoor outreach visit, said that the abrogation of Article 370 had effectively put an end to the long-standing separatist threat in Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to Indonesian think tank members and academics while being a member of the Indian parliamentary delegation, Khurshid said, "Kashmir had a serious problem for a long time.
Much of that was seen in the mind of the government in a piece called 370 of the Constitution, which somehow seemed to suggest that it stood apart from the rest of the nation. But Article 370 was revoked, and it was finally brought to an end."
Article 370 had accorded special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir until the same was revoked by the BJP government on August 5, 2019. Thereafter, the state was bifurcated into two union territories, namely, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Aiding a multiparty delegation headed by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, Khurshid brought to light the positive changes in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation. He referred to the 65 percent voter turnout in the elections conducted subsequently and the formation of an elected government in the union territory.
"Then there was an election with 65 per cent turnout. There is an elected government in Kashmir today, and thus, for the people to seek to reverse all that has the prosperity which has reached Kashmir. It would not be wise," he continued.
The delegation, comprising members across the political aisle like BJP MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Brij Lal, Pradan Baruah, and Hemang Joshi, Trinamool Congress' Abhishek Banerjee, CPI(M)'s John Brittas, and former Ambassador Mohan Kumar, is on a tour of Southeast Asia.
On Thursday, the delegation had extensive talks with top-notch think tanks, universities, resident ambassadors of friendly missions in Jakarta, and the leaders of the National Mandate Party (PAN), a contemporary Muslim political party in Indonesia.
These engagements are part of India's overall diplomatic move to unite the international community against cross-border terror emanating from Pakistan. The delegation is informing stakeholders in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore regarding India's Operation Sindoor, which was conducted against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Read also| Watch| Op Sindoor befitting blow to terrorism, Pak exposed before the world, Says PM Modi
Read also| BJP Claims Support of 44 MLAs to Form New Government in Manipur
