Senior Congress leader and son of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last king of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, who had signed the Instrument of Accession agreeing to accede to the Dominion of India, Dr Karan Singh has welcomed the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
In his statement, the last ‘Yuvraj’ of Jammu and Kashmir said that the drastic step taken by the Indian government appears to be enjoying an overwhelming support of the Parliament as well as around the country including region of Jammu and Ladakh.
He says that he has been pondering over the issue and does not think that blanket condemnation of the step is appropriate. He says that he had suggested recognition of Ladakh as a union territory back in 1965 itself when he was the Sadar-i-Riyasat of the state. He also mentioned that the discriminatory Article 35A had to be addressed and the fresh delimitation will ensure fair division of political power between Jammu and Kashmir regions.
With regard to Kashmir, he said that the political dialogue must continue and would be unfair to dismiss the two major regional parties as ‘anti-national’. He urged the politicians to hold a political dialogue and insisted that the communal harmony should be maintained. He added that his sole concern is to further the welfare of all sections and regions of the state.
Congress leader Karan Singh joins long list of prominent Congress leaders who have come out in support of Modi government’s decision to dilute Article 370 making Jammu and Kashmir a part of India without any riders attached. Earlier, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Deepinder Hooda, Janardan Dwivedi have come out in support of abrogation of Article 370. Congress’ chief whip Bhubaneswar Kalita even resigned from Rajya Sabha over Congress’ stand on Article 370.