Article 370 made J&K, India bleed, says Vice-President Dhankhar

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday led tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary, remembering the Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder’s clarion call against two Constitutions, two flags and two statutes in one country. Mookerjee died on this day in 1953 in custody in Srinagar.

Addressing the inaugural session of the 99th Annual Meet and National Conference of Vice-Chancellors, organised by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), at Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, the V-P said India had suffered from Article 370 for far too long.

Recalling Mookerjee’s life mission to abrogate Article 370 and Article 35-A, Dhankhar said: “Article 370 made the state of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the entire country bleed. Coupled with the draconian Article 35-A, it deprived people of their Fundamental Rights.”

“We had Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and in the shoes of Sardar Patel, we had Home Minister Amit Shah. Article 370 does not exist in our Constitution now. It was abrogated on August 5, 2019, and the legal challenge to the abrogation in the Supreme Court failed on December 11, 2023,” added Dhankhar.

Noting that Syama Prasad Mookerkee had given the slogan of ‘Ek Vidhaan, Ek Nishaan, Ek Pradhan’ for J&K as far back as in 1952, Dhankhar said abrogation of Article 370 was the most befitting tribute to the departed leader.

The V-P said, “Universities are not merely degree-issuing institutions, they must allow space for disagreements, debates, dialogue and discussion. These places have to catalyse change. That responsibility lies on the Vice-Chancellors, in particular, and academia, in general.”

Talking about the National Education Policy, 2020, he said the policy reflects India’s civilisational essence. He said education was a great equaliser and life blood for democracy and applauded national growth, saying India had emerged as a land of opportunity, entrepreneurship, start-ups, innovation and unicorns.

PM Narendra Modi on Monday paid tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, saying, “Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee displayed exemplary courage and resilience to keep the integrity of the country intact. His invaluable contributions to nation-building will always be remembered with reverence.”

Nadda questions Mookerjee's mysterious death

• BJP president JP Nadda remembered how on June 23, 1953, Dr Mookerjee lost his life under mysterious circumstances in custody.
• “His death remains shrouded in mystery. His mother had written to then PM Jawaharlal Nehru for a probe into her son’s untimely death, but her appeal was ignored,” Nadda said, as the BJP marked the day with events across India.