'Exposed Modi-Shah Game Plan...': Congress Defends Kharge's 'Slip of Tongue' On Article 370

The Congress took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday and said that national president Mallikarjun Kharge’s alleged “slip of tongue” led to him “inadvertently exposing the Modi-Shah game plan” of wanting to change Article 371 of the Constitution.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh’s clarification came hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed Kharge for the “horrendous mistake” of saying Article 371 instead of Article 370.

In a post on X, Ramesh said, “Today by a slip of the tongue in his speech in Jaipur, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji mistakenly said that Modi claims credit for abolishing Article 371. Kharge ji clearly meant Article 370.”

The Congress leader then went on to say that Kharge’s mistake however, exposed the Modi government’s plans to make changes to Article 371 and its various provisions.

“Amit Shah immediately pounced on the Congress President. But the truth is that Modi does indeed want to change Article 371-A relating to Nagaland, Article 371-B relating to Assam, Article 371-C relating to Manipur, Article 371-F relating to Sikkim, Article 371-G relating to Mizoram, and Article 371-H relating to Arunachal Pradesh,” Ramesh added.

“Incidentally, Kharge ji was the man singularly responsible for Article 371-J relating to the erstwhile Hyderabad-Karnataka region – which he got accomplished only after Dr Manmohan Singh became PM,” Ramesh said.

What Did Mallikarjun Kharge Say About Article 371?

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, while addressing a public gathering in Rajasthan on Saturday, criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mention of Article 370 in an election rally in Churu.

“Yesterday PM Modi addressed a rally in Rajasthan’s Churu. There are a lot of issues related to the farmers. The farmers are suffering and thousands of them have died by suicide. Instead of speaking about their issues, PM said he removed 371. What do the people here have to do with it?” Kharge said.

The BJP was soon to catch the slip of tongue by Kharge and launched an all-out attack on the Congress party for his remarks. However, Congress claimed that Kharge inadvertently exposed the Modi-Shah game plan.

BJP Criticises Mallikarjun Kharge Over ‘Article 371’ Remark

Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Congress over its president Mallikarjun Kharge’s misspoken ‘Article 371’ mention.

In an X post, he called out Kharge, who said ‘Article 371’ instead of ‘Article 370’, saying it was “only expected of Congress to make such horrendous mistakes.”

“Such blunders made by it have haunted our nation for decades now,” Shah wrote.

The Home Minister also noted how it was “shameful to hear” that India’s oldest party was asking what connection the people of Rajasthan have with Kashmir.

“It is shameful to hear that the Congress party is asking, “Kashmir se kya waasta hai?” I would like to remind the Congress party that J&K is an integral part of India, and every state and citizen has the right over J&K, just as the people of J&K have the right over the rest of India,” Shah wrote in an X post.

He further said the Congress doesn’t know that “many brave sons of Rajasthan have sacrificed their lives for peace and security in Kashmir”.