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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s slip of the tongue during a public rally in Jaipur sparked a sharp reaction from BJP leaders on Saturday. Kharge mistakenly claimed that the BJP takes credit for removing Article 371, instead of the contentious Article 370 which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir before being revoked in 2019.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah wasted no time in criticizing Congress after Kharge’s error. Shah shared a clip of Kharge’s speech on social media, stating, “For the Congress’s information, it was not Article 371 but Article 370 that was abrogated by the Modi government. However, such horrendous mistakes are expected of the Congress. Such blunders made by them have haunted our nation for decades now.”
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh defended Kharge, stating that the Congress president made a “slip of the tongue” and “clearly meant Article 370”.
What is Article 370?
Article 370 was a provision in the Indian Constitution that granted special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir. It allowed J&K to have its own constitution, flag, and autonomy over internal administration. The Article was drafted in Part XXI of the Constitution, which deals with Temporary, Transitional and Special provisions.
In a historic move on August 5, 2019, the BJP-led government at the Center revoked Article 370, fully integrating J&K with the rest of India. This move fulfilled a core ideological agenda of the BJP and allowed the central government to have control over laws in J&K.
What is Article 371?
While Article 370 dealt with J&K, Article 371 outlines special provisions for various other states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Karnataka.
Articles 369 through 392 appear in Part XXI of the Constitution, titled ‘Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions’. These articles have different provisions to address the specific requirements of different states in areas like development boards, use of customary laws, land transfer rules, and more.
Kharge’s mix-up of Article 370 and 371 provided ammunition for the BJP to target the Congress, with Shah alleging that such “horrendous mistakes” are expected from the opposition party which has “haunted” the nation for decades with “blunders”. The Congress defended it as a simple slip of tongue during the heat of political campaigning.
The revocation of Article 370 remains a contentious political issue, with the BJP projecting it as a major achievement in integrating J&K with India, while opposition parties accuse the Center of disregarding the special status granted to the region.
