Only unfinished agenda for J-K is 'liberation of PoK': VHP

New Delhi: The Vishva Hindu Parishad on Monday hailed the Supreme Court for upholding the Centre's decision to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution and said the only unfinished agenda for J-K is the "liberation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir".

The apex court unanimously upheld the Centre's 2019 decision to abrogate provisions of the Article bestowing special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (J-K). It also directed restoration of statehood "at the earliest" as well as elections to the assembly by September 30 next year. "We are confident that a strong India and a determined government will be able to free PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) soon," Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) working president Alok Kumar said in a statement Today's decision of the Supreme Court on Article 370 is like a "grateful nation's tribute to the supreme sacrifice of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee", Kumar said, welcoming the apex court's verdict.

Mookerjee was the president of the Hindu Mahasabha and later founded the Jana Sangh, the predecessor to the BJP, with help from the RSS. Kumar said the apex court's judgement underlines that the Letter of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh (the last ruler of the princely state of J-K) in 1947-48 was "final, valid and irrevocable". Jammu and Kashmir has always been and will always be an integral part of India, he added. "Now the only unfinished agenda in Jammu and Kashmir is the liberation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir from the clutches of Pakistan," Kumar said, adding, "We are confident that a strong India and a determined government will be able to free the PoK soon".

Targeting the Congress, the VHP leader said that "the then political leadership" had given special status to Jammu and Kashmir through Article 370 due to some "political misunderstandings". "The Parliament of India had watered down this Article. But still there were some questions due to the pendency of this case. They have been cleared after today's verdict," he said, adding that the VHP is "confident" that development in Jammu and Kashmir will now happen at a greater pace