PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah
Congratulations are coming in for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah after revocation of Article 370. These wishes are not just from the country but also from abroad. Groups of Indian Americans have expressed happiness.
"We congratulate Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister (Amit) Shah for taking this bold step. It was long due, but it took the courage and vision of Prime Minister Modi to remove this unjust provision," said Jagdish Sewhani, president of American India Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Several Indian-Americans are ready to invest in tourism and other sectors of J&K and Laddakh, he said.
Indian American Forum for Political Education (IAFPE) president Sampat Shivangi said it "is a historic and a very bold act" by Modi and Shah. They have "given a gift to the nation" in the run up to the Independence Day celebrations on August 15, he added.
He said, "One can see the celebrations in Streets of India with joy and jubilation which I am witnessing firsthand as I am in India and am part of this historic party. This revocation of article 370 was long overdue a Nehruvian blunder the nation had to go through for the last 70 years ravishing the economy of Kashmiris and rest of India."
However, US experts and think-tank community said it was too early to comment on the long-term consequences of the move and act was a risky decision with almost unfathomable implication.
"Too early to say if the revocation of J&K's special status will end up being seen as a wise decision or an historic blunder," said Sadanand Dhume, a member of the American Enterprise Institute and a columnist of The Wall Street Journal.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah moved a resolution to revoke Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha. He introduced Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill at the same time. The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha around 7 pm on Monday (August 5, 2019).
The bill has proposed bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir into two union territories namely Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
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