Should those who do not consider Kashmir as part of India be kept in the Congress?

(PTI) New Delhi / Chandigarh, Ta. 3

Regarding the remarks of two advisers to Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu, Congress leader Manish Tewari has asked the party whether it is appropriate to give a place in the Punjab Congress to those who do not consider Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of India. Manish Tewari made the statement in reference to the alleged remarks of two of Sidhu's advisers, Pyarelal Garg and Malvinder Singh Mali.

A day earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had also protested against the remark. Following calls from all quarters, Sidhu called both his advisers to his house.

"I urge Harish Rawat, AICC general secretary and in-charge of Punjab, to reconsider whether those who do not consider Jammu and Kashmir as part of India should remain in the Punjab Congress," Tewari said on Twitter. Tewari further said that the remark is a joke for all those who have shed blood for India.

Meanwhile, Rawat, general secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and in-charge of Punjab, said his statements were twisted to gain political advantage in an election year.

It may be mentioned that Pyarelal Garg had raised questions against the criticism made by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh against Pakistan. Mali, on the other hand, has issued a statement on the removal of Article 30, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He said if Kashmir was part of India, then what was the need to remove Articles 40 and 5A.