Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday described Article 370 of the Constitution as a “temporary and transitional” provision, but sought to allay apprehensions about efforts to abrogate or delete it, pointing out that the government did not have the numbers to enact the Constitutional Amendment.
Mr. Rijiju was responding to questions in the Rajya Sabha on whether the government was planning to scrap the special status to Jammu and Kashmir granted under Article 370. With nominated member K.T.S. Tulsi specifically referring to talk within government quarters about the need to scrap Article 370, the Minister said: “It needs a Constitutional Amendment. Even if we say, we don’t have numbers in the House. So there is no point talking about this issue, because we will not rake up this issue. The party’s view is already known.”
The question hour discussion also saw Congress member Karan Singh lend a personal touch by recalling that Article 370 was added to the Constitution a few years after his father had signed the Instrument of Accession in October 1947. He sought an assurance that the issue would be dealt with “extreme caution and understanding.”
