B R Ambedkar was not in favour of Article 370: Raghubar Das

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Tuesday claimed that B R Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, was not in favour of Article 370.

Das said Article 370 is not a new issue as it has been an issue for erstwhile Jan Sangh and later of the BJP, whose manifesto reiterated to do away with Article 370 and 35 A.

"This was a historic wrong of the Congress, and even their senior leaders also accept it. Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar was not in favour of Article 370," the chief minister told a press conference here.

"Even Jawaharlal Nehru had said that Article 370 will wear away over time," Das added.

Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the passage of the bill scrapping Article 370, Das said this would pave the way for development of Jammu and Kashmir, which had been deprived of progress due to Article 370.

Parliament on Tuesday approved a resolution abrogating special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and a bill for splitting the state into two Union Territories.

The resolution was adopted by Lok Sabha with 351 members voting in its support and 72 against it, while one member abstained.

"It is also a big victory for those people who left Kashmir decades ago and turned into refugees in their own country," Das said.

He said that sale-purchase of land in Kashmir had been barred under Article 370, depriving setting up of good hospitals, educational institutions and industry that led to unemployment.