Former veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that he does not promise the restoration of Article 370, which was abrogated by the Centre three years ago.
Addressing a public meeting at Dak Bunglow in north Kashmir’s Baramulla town, Azad said, “To restore Article 370 would need around 350 votes in the Lok Sabha and 175 votes in the Rajya Sabha. This is a number no political party has or is likely to ever get.”
The 73-year-old politician, who ended his five-decade-long association with the Congress on August 26, said if the grand old party is speaking to restore Article 370, those are false promises. “The Congress has shrunken to less than 50 seats and if they speak of restoring Article 370, they are making false promises,” Azad said.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said that he has not promised restoration of Article 370 in his new political agenda because he does not believe in making false promises. Instead, it includes restoration of statehood, land and jobs for the locals as these are achievable objectives.
Talking more about the abrogation of Article 370, which took place on August 5, 2019, Azad said, “Some people have blamed me for voting in favour of the Article 370 abrogation motion brought in by the home minister. I have voted against the abrogation and these people who have no idea about the working of Parliament are saying that I voted against Article 370.”
In the public meeting, Azad said that he will announce the formation of his new political party within 10 days.
“I thank my colleagues who stand with me and are the base of my new party which, God willing, will be announced within the next 10 days,” he said, adding that his new party will be ‘Azad’ (free), like his name, in its ideology and thinking.
