Article 370 done, next is Ram Mandir: B L Santhosh

Noting that the Jan Sangh and RSS have passed 73 resolutions since 1951 to abrogate Article 370 of the constitution, BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh said the saffron party was found for the purpose.

“BJP was born to abrogate Article 370 and is growing to build Ram Mandir,” he said, at an event organised by Janamana Samithi in the city. This was not a sudden move, he said, adding that “historic blunder was corrected” on August 6.

Santhosh, who was appointed as the party’s national general secretary (organisation) last month, is the bridge between the BJP and the RSS.

Blaming first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the ‘error’, he said that more than 40,000 people had lost their lives due to the same. In a bid to become an international leader, Nehru did not take measures to secure Indian territory, Santosh alleged.

“That is why the Indian Army is not at the international border but at the Line of Actual Control,” he said. It is disheartening to note that several places of worship mentioned in shlokas are not in the country due to such errors,” he said.

Many people have a tendency to observe such issues in a Hindu-Muslim angle. “This should not be seen with that prism as Kashmir Muslims were the worst affected by Article 370,” he said.

Claiming that both the first President of India Rajendra Prasad and Constitution architect B R Ambedkar were opposed to Article 370, he said, “We had prepared for it for the past five years. What was started with the BJP-PDP coalition ended with the abrogation (of Article 370) on August 6,” he said.