Rahul ji, all governors of J&K in past too were Indians, none an Italian: Arun Gupta

Jammu, September 26: Rahul Gandhi does not know the history of Jammu & Kashmir one bit and puts his foot in the mouth every time he departs from the written notes given to him. His outsider barb against Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is totally misplaced, misleading, gross distortion and unwarranted, BJP spokesperson Arun Gupta said on Thursday.

Rahul’s attempt of branding LG Sinha as an “outsider’’ in Jammu & Kashmir is highly condemnable, Mr Gupta said. Before Mr Manoj Sinha, Lt Gen S K Sinha, N N Vohra, Jagmohan, General K V Krishna Rao, B K Nehru, L K Jha and Bhagwan Sahai remained Governors after 1967. They were all Indians from different states of this great nation and served their tenures as true Indians. In May 1967, Janaki Nath Wazir for two months and before him Karan Singh occupied the top constitutional post in J&K, Mr Gupta recalled.

Karan Singh Ji as also Mr Wazir were residents of Jammy & Kashmir but an era ended in 1967 when first parliamentary elections were held here. Mr Gandhi was born in June 1970 but over three years before that, the era of someone from state becoming its constitutional head had ended in J&K, Mr Gupta explained. At that time, the era which his great grandfather Nehru had started in collusion with National Conference founder Sheikh Abdullah ended abruptly. The undemocratic method of the Sheikh choosing six MPs of the Lok Sabha and four of the Rajya Sabha ended, Mr Gupta recounted.

Incidentally, no Lok Sabha elections were held in J&K earlier in 1952, 1957 and 1962. The six Lok Sabha members of the J&K state were then chosen, not elected as was the case all over India, Mr Gupta said. This highly undemocratic practice of no direct elections being held even for the Lok Sabha was a gift from his great grandfather Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah to this state, he added.

What does Rahul mean when he says that outsiders are imposing decisions on Jammu & Kashmir? Does he want a return to pre-May 1967 era when no elections were held and someone from J&K alone could occupy the top constitutional post in J&K? Mr Gupta asked.

One can understand that after the burial of Article 35-A and 370 by the Modi government, both the NC and the Congress are immensely frustrated, he said. But Rahul’s frustration should not translate into unnecessary silly and misleading remarks against honourable LG Sinha, Mr Gupta asserted. Can Rahul recount the states in which the Congress appointed locals as Governors or Lieutenant Governors during its several tenures at the Centre? Mr Gupta asked.

It is an established practice that two top constitutional positions in any state, that of Governor and Chief Justice of that state’s high court, are not held by anyone from that state, he said. Both the governor (constitutional head) and man/woman holding the top judicial post are from some other state/s, Mr Gupta added. This has been an unwritten rule and convention that successive governments, be they of the Congress or some other party, have always followed, Mr Gupta said.

Instead of displaying his ignorance and understanding of constitutional matters, and established practices of the Indian democracy, it is pathetic that Mr Gandhi speaks off-tangent and without any substance, Mr Gupta said. It will be good for Mr Gandhi and his party if he stops making unsubstantiated and false allegations of outsiders dictating people of J&K, he added.