Rahul Gandhi should apologise for his remarks on Kashmir: Prakash Javadekar

"Rahul's original statement on Kashmir was wrong. Mr. Gandhi things are not going wrong in Kashmir but things are going very wrong in the Congress," BJP leader and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said while addressing a press conference.

He said the Congress showed India in bad light.

"Never India has been shown in bad light as Congress has done," he said.

" His language on Kashmir became a handle for Pakistan," he said.

"Just reversing the statement is not enough. Congress and Rahul Gandhi should apologise," he said.

Rahul Gandhi, who recently stepped down as the president of the Congress following the party's poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls, slammed the Modi government over the abrogation of Article 370 and the subsequent lockdown in the Valley. 

Javadekar made the remark on a day when Rahul Gandhi tweeted and said that Kashmir is an 'internal issue' of India and there is no room for any other country, including Pakistan, to interfere in it.

"I disagree with this Govt. on many issues. But, let me make this absolutely clear: Kashmir is India’s internal issue & there is no room for Pakistan or any other foreign country to interfere in it," Gandhi tweeted.

Gandhi said Jammu and Kashmir is facing violence as it is supported by Pakistan.

"There is violence in Jammu & Kashmir. There is violence because it is instigated and supported by Pakistan which is known to be the prime supporter of terrorism across the world," he said.

According to CNN-News 18 report,  Gandhi was mentioned in a letter sent by Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on Monday to bolster Islamabad’s stand at the United Nations. The letter also quotes Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad questioning the restrictions in Kashmir. 

Meanwhile, reacting to Rahul Gandhi's comment on Wednesday, party MP Shashi Tharoor posted: " Spot on, Chief! This is what @INCIndia has insisted all along: J&K is an integral part of India; we opposed the manner in which Art.370 was abrogated because the way it was done assaulted our Constitution& democratic values. No reason for Pak to draw any comfort from our stand."

Kashmir issue:

The Indian government scrapped the Article 370 which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The government bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir with an assembly and Ladakh without an assembly.

Article 35A of the Indian Constitution allowed the Jammu and Kashmir state's legislature to define “permanent residents” of the state and also provided special rights and privileges to those permanent residents.

Article 370 allowed Jammu and Kashmir to have its own constitution, flag and right to handle its own laws except on matters that impact national security.

The decision had further escalated tension between India and Pakistan in recent times.

Image courtesy: Prakash Havadekar: BJP Twitter page and Rahul Gandhi from Congress Facebook page