Nadda attacks Congress over Emergency, Article 370 in RS

NEW DELHI: Union health minister and leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, J P Nadda, on Tuesday targeted the Congress, citing Article 370 as an illustration of its attempts to alter the Constitution of India, and said the "good lot"—referring to the NDA government—abrogated the article to allow the full integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the country.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

The "good lot" was drawn from B R Ambedkar's comment that said, "However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it happen to be a good lot."

Taking part in a discussion on 75 years of the Constitution, Nadda, who is also the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, said that despite then law minister B R Ambedkar's clear position that Article 370—which granted special status to J&K—was "treacherous" and against the interest of India, then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave it a go-ahead.

"Article 370 came and it was the Jana Sangh that rose in protest and said ek desh mein do nishan, do pradhan aur do vidhan nahin challenge... Syama Prasad Mookerjee sacrificed his life in a prison in J&K," he said.