The Congress Working Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, late on Tuesday condemned the way in which provisions of Article 370 were abrogated and Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two union territories, calling it “unilateral, brazen and totally undemocratic”.

The resolution

Reading out the unanimously adopted resolution, P Chidambaram said the government had violated every principle of constitutional law, states’ rights, parliamentary procedure and democratic governance. The CWC accused the government of dismembering the state by misreading the Constitution.

The committee reaffirmed the Congress position that Jammu and Kashmir, including areas under Pakistan’s illegal occupation and the part ceded by it to China, is an integral part of India, that its integration is final and irrevocable, and that all related issues are internal matters in which outside interference would not be accepted.

The resolution described Article 370 as the constitutional recognition of the Instrument of Accession and said it should have been amended only after consulting all sections of the people and in strict accordance with the Constitution. It said the changes pushed through the Rajya Sabha and then the Lok Sabha had grave implications beyond the state and called into question the idea of India as a Union of States. The party promised to stand by the people of the region and appealed to them to keep the peace.

The meeting and divergent views

Rahul Gandhi presided over the meeting. Those present included Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad, A K Antony and Ahmed Patel. Azad briefed the committee on the situation in Kashmir. Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who had stirred controversy that day by asking whether the issue was internal or bilateral, also attended.

Party sources said Rahul Gandhi told members the party respected differing views reflecting sentiment in various states, but had to follow its ideology. Priyanka Gandhi was said to share this view.

Some senior leaders, including Jyotiraditya Scindia and Janardan Dwivedi, had backed the Centre. Shortly before the meeting, Scindia tweeted his support for the move, though he said it would have been better if constitutional process had been followed. During the meeting, Anand Sharma tweeted that Jammu and Kashmir had joined India as a state and that dividing and downgrading it humiliated its people.

What happened next

Parliament ended Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 on 5-6 August 2019, and the state was reorganised into two union territories.

Originally published on 7 August 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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