Congress must sense people's mood or lose India: Shastri

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Anil K. Shastri on Tuesday urged his party to sense the mood of people on the Modi government's decision to revoke Article 370 on Jammu and Kashmir, recalling the party opposed Mandal commission and lost ground in north India and should not risk now of losing India.

"Congress must sense the mood of the people and then take a stand. The people are totally with the government on this issue. We opposed Mandal and lost Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and should not risk now of losing India," Shastri said in a tweet.

He was referring to the implementation of the recommendations of Mandal Commission which back-fired for the Congress in the Hindi heartlands of U.P. and Bihar in early 1990s.

Former MP Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday joined a number of other party leaders in backing the Centre's move to abrogate Article 370 even as former President Rahul Gandhi and the party opposed the government's Mission Kashmir.

Before Scindia, other young Congress leaders such as Deepender Hooda, Jaiveer Shergill, former Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora, as well as Kirti Azad, Shatrughan Sinha and Rae Bareli MLA Aditi Singh had come out in support of revoking Article 370.

Gandhi, meanwhile, has slammed the move, saying that abuse of executive power has grave implications for national security. He also termed the arrest of Kashmiri leaders as unconstitutional and undemocratic.

Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P. Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal too had opposed the move in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

( With inputs from IANS )