'Court Ruling Or Dialogue': Nitish Kumar On BJP's Polls Promise Of Scrapping Article 370

Nitish Kumar reiterated his stand that the proposals to remove Article 370, impose Uniform Civil Code and construct Ram temple at Ayodhya either be settled through dialogue or court ruling.

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 10 June 2019 8:54 pm

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Monday refrained from making a direct comment on what his party would do if the BJP-led central government goes ahead with its poll promise of scrapping Article 370, which gives special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Janata Dal (United) president reiterated his stand that the proposals to remove Article 370, impose Uniform Civil Code and construct Ram temple at Ayodhya either be settled through dialogue or court ruling.

"It has been our view that Article 370 should not be removed. Similarly, Uniform Civil Code should not be imposed on anyone and the issue of Ram temple at Ayodhya be either resolved through dialogue or court order," said Kumar.

Kumar clarified that there was no "bitterness" in his party's relation with the BJP over the JD(U) not joining the Union Cabinet with "symbolic representation".

Kumar was replying to questions of mediapersons after his weekly public interaction programme "Lok Samvad" in Patna.

National chief general secretary of JD(U) K C Tyagi had Sunday, after the party's national executive meeting, said the party will oppose the Centre's move to scrap Article 370 while being in the NDA, just as it had done when the party voted against the Triple Talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

"We will continue to oppose it (abrogating Article 370) while being in NDA... It is your (media) wish that we should part ways," Tyagi had said.

On Sunday, JD(U), an ally of the BJP in Bihar, had also announced that it would contest assembly elections in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Haryana on its own, as part of its goal to achieve national party status by 2020.

Article 370 is expected to a major election issue in the Jammu and Kashmir state polls.

"There is no bitterness in the NDA with regard to the party's decision not to join the Union Cabinet. We have very cordial relations," Kumar said Monday, answering a query on the party's decision not to be part of the Union Cabinet.

Kumar, who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 30, said his party declined the offer of token representation in the cabinet by nominating one person from the party, as was made public earlier.