Kashmir will not be part of India in 2047: Vaiko

Known for his penchant for stoking controversies, MDMK chief Vaiko is at it yet again. This time, the issue is Jammu and Kashmir and Vaiko is in the line of fire for his comments that “Kashmir will not be part” of India when the country celebrates its centenary year of Independence in 2047.

Vaiko, who was recently sentenced to one year on sedition charges but suspended by the Madras High Court, has been warning the Centre not to “play with fire” pointing to the recent move to scrap Article 370 that accorded Special Status to the border state.

"Kashmir will not be a part of India. During the centenary celebrations of India's independence, history is going to be written that Kashmir will not be a part of India; they (BJP-led Central government) have entangled India in quicksand," he said on Monday night.

Vaiko was responding to a question from a scribe who sought his response on Tamil superstar Rajinikanth’s effusive praise on Home Minister Amit Shah for handling “Mission Kashmir” very well. The MDMK chief reiterated that Congress was 30 per cent responsible and BJP 70 per cent responsible for the mess that Jammu and Kashmir finds itself in today.

The MDMK chief, who was recently elected to Rajya Sabha, attacked both the BJP and Congress while speaking on the resolution to scrap Article 370 in Rajya Sabha on August 5.

Asserting that the bill should be rejected lock stock and barrel, the MDMK leader had feared that scrapping of Article 370 would lead to Kashmir becoming like "Kosovo, South Sudan and East Taimur" in the future.

Vaiko is known for his strong views on the now-defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) too by calling it an organisation fighting for the “freedom of Sri Lankan Tamils” and hailing Velupillai Prabhakaran as his leader.