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The Congress on Friday demanded restoration of Article 370 and the rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir and welcomed the coming together of mainstream regional parties of the Union Territory. Senior Congress spokesperson P Chidambaram said the Centre must also stop looking at the mainstream political parties and the people of Jammu and Kashmir as "anti-national". The assertion comes a day after mainstream political parties in Jammu and Kashmir held a meeting and formed an alliance for restoration of the special status of the erstwhile state as it existed before August 5 last year and also to initiate a dialogue between all stakeholders on the issue. "The coming together of mainstream regional parties of J&K to fight a constitutional battle to restore the rights of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh is a development that must be welcomed by all the people of India," he said on Twitter. "The Congress also resolutely stands for restoration of the status and rights of the people
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Friday "unequivocally and unambiguously" condemned the killing of three BJP workers in Kulgam district of south Kashmir. "Political differences cannot justify the use of violence. Violence has always and will crowd out sanity. We will always fight aggression in all its forms irrespective of the source of aggression, PAGD spokesperson Sajad Lone said in a statement. Expressing grief over the incident, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said people of Jammu and Kashmir were paying with their lives for the policies of the Centre. "Saddened to hear about the killing of three BJP workers in Kulgam. Condolences to their families. At the end of the day, its people of J&K who pay with their lives because of GOI's ill thought out policies," she tweeted. NC vice-president Omar Abdullah termed the incident a "terrible news." "Terrible news from Kulgam district of South Kashmir. I unequivocally condemn the targeted killing of the 3 BJP workers