Time will tell if peace prevails: Nath on Article 370

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday said only time will tell whether the Modi government's move of scrapping Article 370 will establish peace and bring down terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Madhya Pradesh government's guest house named 'Madhyalok' at Vashi in neighboring Navi Mumbai.

"Only time will tell how many employment opportunities are generated and whether acts of terrorism come down in Jammu and Kashmir after the removal of Article 370...that is the biggest question before us," he said.

"Talking about what will happen in a day or two after the removal of Article 370 is actually meaningless," Nath said, adding, "It remains to be seen whether peace prevails in Jammu and Kashmir and terror activities come down."

When asked about party colleague Jyotiraditya Scindia coming out in support of the Modi government's move on Article 370, Nath said, "He (Scindia) is with the Congress Working Committee's proposal on the issue and will ultimately support the party's resolution on it."

Pakistan on Wednesday expelled Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria, minutes after it decided to downgrade the diplomatic ties with India over what it called New Delhi's "unilateral and illegal" move to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Commenting on Pakistan's act, Nath said, "This is their (Pakistan's) thinking and perception and it is known to the world."

The former Union minister also blamed the neighbouring country for spreading terrorism in Kashmir.

"It is proven across the world that Pakistan is the nursery of terrorism," he said.

Parliament on Tuesday approved a resolution abrogating special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and a bill for splitting the state into two union territories.

While the Congress strongly opposed the move, a number of its leaders across the country went against the party's stand in Parliament on the issue.

Apart from Scindia, senior Congress leaders Janardan Dwivedi and Deepender Hooda voiced their support to the move.

Scindia had tweeted on Wednesday, "I support the move on #JammuAndKashmir & #Ladakh and its full integration into a union of India. Would have been better if the constitutional process had been followed. No questions could have been raised then. Nevertheless, this is in our country's interest and I support this."

The Congress has convened a meeting on Friday of all its general secretaries, in-charge of states, and state party unit chiefs to discuss the issue in detail.