Rajasthan minister differs from Congress line, welcomes Article 370 scrapping

Rajasthan minister Ashok Chandna Tuesday welcomed the Centre's decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, adding to the list of Congress leaders who have ditched the party line of opposing the move.

Chandana, the state youth affairs and sports minister, however said that it was his personal view.

"It is my personal view. Abrogating Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir is the first decision of the government, which I welcome," he tweeted.

"...But implementation of abrogating Article 370 should be done peacefully and in the environment of trust instead of dictatorial. It should be disposed peacefully so that no citizen of the country face any problem in the future," he added.

A number of Congress leaders across the country have gone against the party's stand in Parliament on abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir by supporting the Centre's move and a bill to bifurcate the state.

The Congress has strongly opposed the move and the bill to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.

Senior leader Janardan Dwivedi has welcomed the government's decision, while party's Mumbai unit chief Milind Deora said it was "very unfortunate" that Article 370 was being converted into a "liberal vs conservative debate".

Congress's chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Bhubaneshwar Kalita quit his membership of the Upper House of Parliament over the issue.

Chandana, also the Youth Congress's Rajasthan unit chief, is the first state ruling party leader, apart from Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, to comment on the issue. The state assembly's second session ended on Monday but prominent leaders refrained from commenting on the subject.