Scrapping of Article 370 'political equivalent of demonetisation': Shashi Tharoor

Irked over the Central government's decision to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday said that it is a "political equivalent of the demonetisation".

The lawmaker asserted that the move is going to affect the credibility of India in the United Nations and other Muslim countries.

"In many ways, my fear is that it will be the political equivalent of demonetisation, something where the short term damage being caused will vastly outweigh any theoretical good that it might do," Tharoor told ANI.

His comments came in the backdrop of abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, by the Central government, earlier today. A resolution in this regard was moved in the Rajya Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, amidst uproar by the opposition in the Upper House.

Soon after Shah moved the resolution, a gazette notification in this regard was issued by the President.

"The assurances that the successive rulers of India, including those of the BJP, have given to the people and leaders of Kashmir and the international community, now stand torn into shreds," said the Congress leader.

Expressing concern over the well-being of the people of Kashmir, the Trivandrum lawmaker urged the incumbent government to ease their conditions imposed in the region, release the leaders from house arrest and ponder over the national and international consequences as a result of the scrapping of the Article 370.

Yesterday, as Kashmir was on the edge with the authorities stepping up security deployment, former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were kept under house arrests.

"The leaders are being kept under house arrest at a time when something of far-reaching importance for their states and personal futures is being discussed and decided. Our people, who carry Indian passports and citizenship, are suddenly being forced to live in a state of siege, with no internet connection and no way of getting out in an emergency. This is not the democratic spirit, process, and the Indian democracy we have cherished for more than seven decades," Tharoor added.