DMK president M.K. Stalin on Monday led the political onslaught from Tamil Nadu on the Centre’s decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of the special status accorded to it under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcate the State into two Union territories.
The AIADMK, which supported the move in the Rajya Sabha, came under attack from many political parties, including the DMK and Congress.
Terming the Centre’s action as a “murder of democracy”, Mr. Stalin said, “It is highly condemnable that the AIADMK has supported the move. The party should rename itself as All India Bharatiya Janata Party.”
He urged the Centre to put on hold the President’s notification amending the provisions of the Article 370, effectively taking away the special status bestowed upon the valley, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019.
Mr Stalin reiterated the DMK’s unshakable faith in India’s security and sovereignty and pointed out that it had taken a patriotic stand and extended support during challenges such as the Indo-China war, Indo-Pakistan war and the Kargil intrusion. “We never bothered whether the country was ruled by the Congress or the BJP. The DMK has always opposed abrogation of Article 370. It was firm that the special status for Jammu and Kashmir should not be dispensed with,” he said.
It was highly condemnable that instead of addressing pressing issues like the financial crisis and unemployment, the BJP government had abrogated the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and it had happened at a time when there was no elected government in the state, the DMK leader said. “The government’s decision proves that it has ulterior motives since it has not consulted the leaders of the political parties (in the valley), kept them under house arrest, cut off communications and created an emergency (like situation),” he alleged.
Describing it as a ‘Black Day’, TNCC president K.S. Alagiri said the Centre’s decision would spell doom for the social fabric of the nation. "Already, the BJP government is dividing the people of the country along caste, religious and language lines. This move will only widen those fault lines," he said in Dindigul.
"The AIADMK walked out (on triple talaq) and created a drama to try to win the minority votes in the Vellore poll. But today it has supported the removal of special status for Jammu and Kashmir. The people will never forgive them for this," he said.