Article 370 abrogation violated constitutional law, states' rights: Congress Working Committee

Terming the abrogation of Article as "unilateral, brazen and undemocratic", the resolution said the state was dismembered by misinterpreting the provisions of the Constitution.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Sonia Gandhi during Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at AICC HQ in New Delhi on 6 August 2019. (Photo | Arun Kumar, EPS)

NEW DELHI: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday passed a resolution denouncing scrapping of the Constitution's Article 370, terming the provision the "constitutional recognition of the Instrument of Accession between the state of Jammu and Kashmir and India".

The resolution was passed after a meeting of the CWC - the party's highest decision-making body, lasting around four hours against the backdrop of the Parliament approving the government's plan and a large number of Congress leaders coming out in support of it, saying it was in national interest.

But the CWC resolution said Article 370 deserved to be honoured until it was amended, after consultation with all sections of the people, and strictly in accordance with the Constitution of India.

Terming the abrogation of Article as "unilateral, brazen and undemocratic", the resolution said the state was dismembered by misinterpreting the provisions of the Constitution.

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"Every principle of Constitutional law, States' rights, Parliamentary procedure and democratic governance was violated," it said.

"Article 370 was conceived and crafted by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, assisted by N. Gopalaswamy Iyengar and V.P. Menon.

"What the BJP government accomplished yesterday in the Rajya Sabha and today in the Lok Sabha has grave implications going well beyond J&K and calls into question the very idea of India being a Union of States. Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India as one State and no government has the power to change its status or divide it or reduce any part of it to a Union Territory."

The resolution said the "CWC strongly reaffirmed the consistent and stated position of the Indian National Congress that J&K, including the areas under the illegal occupation of Pakistan and the part ceded by it to China, are integral part of the Republic of India. The integration of J&K with India is final and irrevocable. CWC firmly asserted that all issues pertaining to J&K are internal matters of India and no outside interference will be tolerated."