Reactions from political leaders are mixed as the Supreme Court on Monday upheld Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir as constitutionally valid.
Tweeting about the judgment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Today's Supreme Court verdict on the abrogation of Article 370 is historic and constitutionally upholds the decision taken by the Parliament of India on 5th August 2019; it is a resounding declaration of hope, progress and unity for our sisters and brothers in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.” Modi said the Supreme Court’s order today was not just a legal judgment, but a “ beacon of hope, a promise of a brighter future and a testament to our collective resolve to build a stronger, more united India”.
The Prime Minister added, “I want to assure the resilient people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh that our commitment to fulfilling your dreams remains unwavering.”
Former Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference party leader Omar Abdullah tweeted, “Disappointed but not disheartened. The struggle will continue. It took the BJP decades to reach here. We are also prepared for the long haul.”
Senior Congress leader and Maharaja Hari Singh's son Karan Singh told ANI, "I welcome it. Now it has become clear that whatever happened is constitutionally valid. I request PM Modi to restore statehood soon.” He added, “A section of people in J&K who will not be happy with this judgment, my sincere advice is that they should accept the inevitable and they should accept the fact that now this has been done and the Supreme Court has upheld the action and therefore there's no point now unnecessarily hitting their head against the wall. Now my suggestion is that they should turn their energies towards fighting the next elections. That is where the people should now be motivated instead of developing any negativity, ANI reported quoting Singh.
Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) President and former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "We are disappointed by the Supreme Court verdict."
BJP National President J.P. Nadda, welcoming the decision tweeted, “Bharatiya Janata Party welcomes the decision given by the Honourable Supreme Court regarding Article 370. The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court has upheld the decision given to remove Section 370 and 35A, its process and objective. The government of Honourable Prime Minister @narendramodi ji has done the historic work of including Jammu and Kashmir in the main ideology of the country, for this I and crores of our workers express our heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister.”
Welcoming the verdict, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Supreme Court’s judgment has proved the decision to abrogate Article 370 was completely constitutional. “On the 5th of August 2019, PM @narendramodi Ji took a visionary decision to abrogate #Article370. Since then peace and normalcy have returned to J&K,” Shah tweeted.
