'Even Farooq...Rahul's 7 generations cannot reinstate Article 370': Shivraj Chouhan
What's the story
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday dared opposition leaders Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference (NC) and Rahul Gandhi of the Congress to bring back Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Today, I want to say that 'Farooq Abdullah aur Rahul Gandhi ki saat pidhiyan (generations) bhi Article 370 nahi la sakti' (even the generations of Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi cannot bring back Article 370)... the BJP government is there," he said at a rally.
Accusations
Chouhan accuses Congress-NC alliance of diverting public attention
Chouhan accused the Congress-NC alliance in the Union Territory of diverting public attention from pressing issues such as employment, food, education, health, and development.
"Our goal is to change the fate of the people... But what are they saying? They are saying that if our government comes to power, we will abolish Article 370. Rahul Baba, even the NC leaders cannot abolish Article 370," Chouhan said.
Opposition view
Opposition's stance on Article 370 and statehood restoration
Meanwhile, Gandhi reiterated on Wednesday that the opposition will exert all its efforts to pressure the Centre into restoring J&K's statehood.
"We wanted that the statehood be restored before elections... But this is the first time in history that a state has been turned into a Union Territory," he said.
Separately, Abdullah also pledged his party's commitment to fight for the restoration of Article 370, criticizing BJP's decision as "unilateral" and "unjust."
Ongoing elections
J&K assembly elections underway amid political tensions
The assembly election in J&K is being held in three phases. The second phase of voting took place on Wednesday, covering 26 constituencies across six districts of the Union Territory, with a voter turnout of over 57%.
The first phase, conducted on September 18, recorded a voter turnout of 61.13% across 24 constituencies in seven districts.
Voting for the third phase is scheduled for October 1, with vote counting set for October 8.