Congress leader Salman Khurshid's 'praise' for Modi govt: 'Article 370 abrogation put an end to major problem in J&K'

Congress leader Salman Khurshid has said that prosperity has returned to Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and described the now-scrapped provision as a "major problem".

Khurshid, who is on a visit to visit to Indonesia as part of the government's diplomatic outreach on Operation Sindoor, said that Article 370 gave an impression that Kashmir was separate from the rest of India.

"Kashmir had major major problem for a long time, much of that reflected in the thinking of the govenrment in an Article called 370 of the Constitution. It somehow gave an impression that Kashmir was separate from the country. But it was abrogated and ... it was finally put to an end," Khurshid said.

Notably, Congress had initially opposed the Modi government's decision to scrap Article 370 and even joined the Gupkar alliance in J&K. It later softened its stance on the issue.

Khurshid, who was addressing members of Indonesian think tanks and academia, noted that there was an active participation during J&K elections held last year.

“Subsequently, there was an election with 65% participation in the election. There’s an elected government in Kashmir today, and therefore, for people to want to undo everything that has happened, the prosperity that has come to Kashmir,” he said.

In a separate conversation with ANI, Khurshid also said that Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir must be given back to India.

He added that India has clearly stated that talks can happen only when Pakistan's commitment to peace is clear, including talks on the Indus Water Treaty.

"There is a long standing unanimous resolution of parliament of India saying that the Pakistan occupied Kashmir must be re-vacated and given back to India and as you know that even in the assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, the seats that should have been in that area are kept vacant just for this reason that we have we have a long term commitment that the area is to come back to us. That's one important factor," he said.

Unease in Congress

Khurshid has become the latest Congress leader to have appeared to laud the decisions taken by the Modi government on a global stage, causing unease among members of the party.

Earlier, Congress leaders like Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari had supported the BJP government's actions during the multi-party diplomatic outreach.

Tharoor acknowledged that the BJP government was the first to conduct cross-border surgical strikes in Pakistan, deviating from the Congress's position that it conducted similar strikes in the neighbouring country as many as six times during the UPA regime. Party leaders are reportedly unhappy at the Kerala MP for his remars, with Udit Raj saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon declare him the “super spokesperson of BJP.”

Separately, senior Congress leader Manish Tewari supported the government's line, saying that it was not US mediation that led to a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. The remarks raised eyebrows since Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders have been questioning the government over Donald Trump's claims that Washington mediated between the two countries.