NC's Masoodi creates furore, claims Syama Prasad Mookerjee blessed Article 370

National Conference leader and Anantnag MP Hasnain Masoodi on Tuesday created furore in Lok Sabha as he claimed that Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee "blessed" Article 370, inviting strong objections from the government with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah rejecting the allegations against its ideologue.

Speaking on the statutory resolution to scrap the special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, Masoodi said the abrogation of Article 370 was an "assault" on Constitution with far-reaching consequences.

"You say that Article 370 is temporary... Read the N Gopalaswami Ayyangar's speech...Article 370 was inserted with Mookerjee's blessings...no one spoke against it in the Constituent Assembly...Did he oppose?" he asked.

This was strongly contested by Shah, who said that in the name of participating in the debate, no member has a right to spread any falsehood.

"This is completely false and far from truth. He should give reference to prove his point. Where did Mookerjee welcome Article 370? Masoodiji should reveal it in the house. In fact, Mookerjee sacrificed his life to remove Article 370," Shah said.

But Masoodi was reluctant. He urged the Chair to check the debate of the Constituent Assembly and said it should be checked whether anyone voted against Article 370.

"Was there not a consensus on Article 370? Was Mookerjee not a part of Cabinet," he asked.

Shah strongly objected to it, saying just because Mookerjee was in the Cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru, it does not mean he endorsed the idea of Article 370.

"The Constituent Assembly took up the task of framing Constitution and the matters did not come to the constituent assembly through the Cabinet. The practice came into being only after the Constitution was adopted," Shah said amid thumping of desks by treasury benches members.

Rajnath Singh demanded Masoodi to either 'authenticate' his statement with documents and references or apologise to the House.

Earlier, Masoodi said the government was celebrating abrogation of Article 370 but it had no idea that it has ditched 1.25 crore people of the state.

"The route you have taken was an assault on the Constitution. History will never forgive you," he said, accusing the government of not taking into confidence the people of Kashmir.

"The government's efforts should have been to unite the people of the state. You don't know where you have pushed the people of Kashmir. You can not even imagine that the how far can be its consequences," he said, adding that the elected government was not in place in Jammu and Kashmir which should have been consulted.

He said that people in Jammu and Kashmir were well off, there were no starvation deaths or farmer's suicide.

"We don't need development. We are at the top on per capita income. We are having tourism and horticulture. Our autonomy and identity are very dear to us," he said.

( With inputs from ANI )