Former J&K king's son Karan Singh supports Modi govt's decision, says don't agree with blanket condemnation

Supporting the government over its recent J&K decisions, senior Congress leader and former J&K ruler Maharaja Hari Singh's son Karan Singh today said he does not agree with a blanket condemnation of the government's move and said that there are several positives in the government's decision.

Welcoming bifurcation of Ladakh into a union territory, Singh said he himself proposed bifurcation way back in 1965 when he was the head of the state.

He also said that he supports the abrogation of provisions of Article 35A as the issue of gender-discrimination needed to be addressed. He said the delimitation in the state will also ensure a fair division of political power between Jammu and Kashmir.


He, however, said two main political parties of Jammu and Kashmir -- the Peoples Democratic Party and National Conference -- should not be termed "anti-national".

He urged the government to release the leaders of political parties to start broad-based political dialogue in the state. "The efforts should be that J&K attains a full statehood as soon as possible so that its people can at least enjoy the political rights available to the rest of the country," Singh said.

His statement comes two days after the Congress Working Committee deplored the manner in which the government stripped J&K of its special status by scrapping provisions of Article 370, and bifurcated the state.

As Karan Singh broadly backed the fresh developments in the state, of which he was the first and the last Sadr-e-Riyasat, he refrained from directly opposing or backing the abrogation of provisions of Article 370, which repealed J&K's special status.

Singh recalled his father Hari Singh's decision to sign the Instrument of Accession with India in 1947 and said, "My sole concern is the welfare of all sections of people in the state."

(Inputs from PTI)