Cong should apologise for J-K Article 370 blunder: Joshi

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said Jammu and Kashmir's Article 370 was a historical blunder by the Nehru-Gandhi family for which the Congress should apologise to the nation.

Joshi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had fulfilled the dream of "One Nation, One Constitution" by scrapping provisions of Article 370 that gave special status to J-K.

"Provisions of Articles 370 and 35 A had hampered development of Jammu and Kashmir. Because of them, we could not implement as many as 120 Acts in J-K," the Union minister for Parliamentary Affairs said.

He slammed former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for criticising the Union government's Article 370 move and said several of his remarks were being used by Pakistan to bolster its case on J-K in the United Nations.

"I have said earlier in Parliament that the Congress was speaking the language of Pakistan (on abrogation of article 370..It was a historical blunder committed by your (Rahul Gandhi) father and forefathers. The Congress leadership should apologise to the nation for it," he said.

Speaking on local issues, Joshi said the Congress, which came to power in Chhattisgarh last year, had failed to fulfill promises made to the electorate during campaigning, including giving unemployment allowance.

He was speaking at a public awareness function organised by BJP to explain the rationale behind abrogation of provisions of Article 370.