Srinagar: Finance Minister of India, Arun Jaitley on Monday said that Kashmir issue cannot be solved until the “failed obsolete thought” of Article 370 as a “loose constitutional connect” between the Kashmir and India is rejected.
He said the challenge needs a fresh approach and only a strong government and a leader with clarity alone was capable of resolving the Kashmir issue.
Referring to the past Congress governments, he said the challenge cannot be resolved by those who created the problem and who believe that a “loose constitutional connect” will lead to integration.
The Congress Party is identified with the creation of the problem itself. When Pakistan did not reconcile to Kashmir being a part of India, the Congress Party whisked the issue away. It was its historical blunder on account of which we lost one-third of our territory.
— Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 15, 2019
He added that it could only be done through a fresh approach “which is uncompromising on terror” and “committed to total integration” and through “reversal of the historical blunders”.
Targeting the Congress, Jaitley said it was identified with the creation of the problem itself by “whisking the issue away” when Pakistan did not reconcile to Kashmir being a part of India.
“Instead of working for total integration, the party wanted a loose and liberal constitutional connect between rest of the nation and the state under an erroneous impression that such an arrangement would further the cause of integration,” he said in a Facebook post.
Instead of working for total integration, the party wanted a loose & liberal constitutional arrangement with Articles 370 & 35A with the State under an erroneous impression that this would further the cause of integration. This was a fraud on the people of India.
— Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 15, 2019
“Article 370 was disastrously thought out as a constitutional connect between rest of the country and the state. Article 35A was surreptitiously introduced in 1954. It catered to a separatist psyche and legitimised discrimination,” he added.
Jaitley said militant supported from across the border “can’t be fought either with velvet gloves or a policy of appeasement”.
“This challenge can obviously be resolved with a fresh approach which is uncompromising on terror, uncompromising in its determination to enforce the rule of law and committed to total integration. A strong government and a leader with clarity alone is capable of resolving the Kashmir issue,” he said.