In a "leaked" Clubhouse chat viral on social media, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh has allegedly said that "if Congress comes to power at the Centre, they will have to rethink the decision on abrogating Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir."
The alleged chat was first shared on Twitter by a profile called @LeaksClubhouse and was later shared by several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including the BJP IT Cell head Amit Malaviya.
"Democracy was not there in Kashmir when they revoked Article 370. Then insaniyat (humanity) was not there because they put everyone behind bars, and Kashmiriyat is something which is basically the fundamentals of secularism," said Singh while addressing a question of a journalist from Pakistan.
"In a Muslim-majority state, there is Hindu praja and both work together. The reservation in Kashmir is given to Kashmiri Pandits in government services. Therefore, decision of revoking Article 370 and revoking the statehood of J&K is an extremely sad decision and the Congress party would certainly have to have a relook on this issue," Singh added in the alleged chat.
Congress' First Love is Pakistan: Union Minister Giriraj Singh
Reacting to the alleged chat, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said that Pakistan is the first love of the Congress. In a tweet, Singh said, "Congress' first love is Pakistan. Digvijaya Singh conveyed Rahul Gandhi's message to Pakistan. Congress will help Pakistan in grabbing Kashmir."
BJP National Spokesperson Dr Sambit Patra tweeted, "Digvijaya Singh on being questioned by a Pak Journalist, on getting rid of 'Modi' and on Kashmir policy, says that if Congress comes back to power they would have a rethink on Article 370 and may restore it. He also talks about Hindu fundamentalists. The Congress is a Clubhouse of anti-nationals."
Malviya, in his tweet, said, “In a Clubhouse chat, Rahul Gandhi’s top aide Digvijaya Singh tells a Pakistani journalist that if Congress comes to power, they will reconsider the decision of abrogating Article 370. Really? This is what Pakistan wanted,” Malviya tweeted.
The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah on Saturday, 12 June, said that he welcomed Singh's comments and was grateful to Congress MP for raising it.
“I’m very grateful to Digvijaya Singh Ji. He has realised the sentiments of people as other parties have also spoken about it. I welcome it heartily and hope the government will look into it again,” Abdullah told news agency ANI.
Singh, while talking to India Today, issued a clarification and said, "Maybe a few leaders do not understand the difference between 'shall' and 'consider'. Congress party had opposed the abrogation of Article 370 in the Parliament and the manner in which it was removed. People of the region were not made a part of the decision."
Several Congress leaders in the past have said that the abrogation of Article 370 was "wrong" and "unconstitutional". Senior leaders like P Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke vehemently against it, the day Home Minister Amit Shah made the announcement on 5 August 2019.
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