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TMC MP differs from party's stand on Article 370, raises eyebrows

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Press Trust of India Kolkata

Differing from his party's stand, a Rajya Sabha member of the TMC has lent support to the abrogation of provisions of Article 370, raising eyebrows among the top leadership.

Senior TMC leader and Rajya Sabha chief whip Sukhendu Sekhar Ray had in a tweet supported the abrogation of provisions of Article 370.

"Decades old Comedy of Errors are being rectified now. It was a thunderbolt today. Many more in the offing? Change is the wheel of our national life. We are mortals. But the nation is not. We must not sing Yesterday Once More. Let it be today and tomorrow," Ray tweeted on Monday.

 

TMC Rajya Sabha party leader Derek O' Brien had on Monday opposed the abrogation of the provisions in Parliament.

Ray's views are also contrary to that of party chief Mamata Banerjee, who on Tuesday said her party would strongly oppose the Jammu and Kashmir reorganisation bill that proposes to bifurcate the state into two union territories.

Banerjee also said the Centre should have consulted all political parties before coming to a decision to scrap constitutional provisions that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"The government could have taken the decision after consulting all the political parties and Kashmiris. There was no vote or discussion on the Kashmir issue. This is not democratic. We will oppose it tooth and nail," Banerjee said.

O' Brien had in a tweet said, "The right wing is calling this The Final Solution! What does that mean? In 1942, this was the code name for the Nazi plan for genocide, to murder the Jews."

Ray's comment, which is in sharp contrast to that of party's official stand, has raised several eyebrows with the top leadership saying they will look into the matter and ask him to explain why he made a comment against the party line.

Ray statement comes at a time when the TMC is finding it tough to hold on to its ground and keep its flock together in Bengal after the reverses it suffered in the general elections.

After the Lok Sabha poll results, five TMC MLAs have switched over to BJP. The saffron camp has claimed that several TMC leaders, including MPs and MLAs, are in touch with them.

Home Minister Amit Shah had on Monday moved a resolution in the Rajya Sabha for bringing a bill to reorganise the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The government also revoked provisions of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Although the Rajya Sabha TMC MPs in the Rajya Sabha staged a walkout during voting on the bill, Banerjee said it did not mean that the party facilitated the passage of the bill.

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First Published: Aug 06 2019 | 5:35 PM IST

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