Digvijaya Singh's remarks on Article 370 spark row; 'this is what Pakistan wants', says Amit Malviya

The BJP on Saturday slammed Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's comments regarding the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Singh, who was speaking to a Pakistan-based journalist on the Clubhouse app, allegedly said that the Congress will consider restoring the region's special status if it comes to power in the Union Territory.BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya shared a purported clip of the conversation on Twitter, in which Singh said, "Democracy was not there in Kashmir when they revoked Article 370, ‘insaniyat’ was not there as they had put everyone behind bars. Meanwhile, ‘Kashmiriyat’ is something that is the fundamentals of secularism. Because in a Muslim-majority state there was a Hindu king and both worked together."News18 further quoted him as saying, "In fact, the reservation in Kashmir was given to Kashmiri pandits, therefore, the decision of revoking Article 370 and reducing the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, is a sad decision. And the Congress party will certainly have to relook at this issue."Madya Pradesh chief minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused the Congress of "speaking Pakistan's language"."Congress is speaking the language of Pakistan. By restoring Article 370, does he (Singh) want to fan the flames of terrorism and separatism in Kashmir? Sonia Gandhi, this country needs an answer from you," he said.Other BJP MPs from across the country also criticised the party for Singh's statement:Responding to the flak, Singh called the saffron party members "illiterate"."Illiterate people probably don't understand the difference between 'shall' and 'consider'," he said in a tweet in Hindi.Additionally, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was quoted by ANI as saying that Singh had "realised the sentiments" of the people.With inputs from agencies