Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his party supports the Centre's decision to revoke Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Kejriwal's comments came hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday moved a resolution in Rajya Sabha to abolish Article 370 of the Constitution after the president issued a notification, and introduced a Bill to divide the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
"We hope this will bring peace and development in the state," the chief minister tweeted.
Kejriwal said the AAP supports the Centre's move on Jammu and Kashmir.
Bhagwant Mann is the AAP's only MP in the Lok Sabha, while it has three MPs -- Sanjay Singh, Sushil Gupta and N D Gupta -- in the Rajya Sabha.
Kejriwal's stand on the decision drew criticism from various quarters with people questioning the reason behind supporting full statehood for Delhi, but backing the loss of this status for Jammu and Kashmir.
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Among prominent people to question Kejriwal's stand were activist Kavita Krishnan, who questioned if federalism is the right of the people of Delhi but not Kashmir.
AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj defended Kejriwal's stand, saying Kashmir's situation is "180 degrees opposite to that of Delhi".
"We cannot compare Kashmir situation with that of Delhi & Pudducherry. Two-third of the original Kashmir is under occupation of Pakistan and China. There were around 150 incidents of infiltration that occurred last year in Kashmir. We cannot compare a peaceful state with a disturbed border state," he said in a statement.
"We have supported and opposed central government based on issues. Whenever there is a national interest or a policy of public interest, we have supported it. When we feel a policy of government is anti-people we have opposed it," Bhardwaj added.
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