"Reeks of Bigotry": MEA on OIC Secretariat's remark on abrogation of Article 370 from Kashmir

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is, and will remain an integral and inalienable part of India, responding to a statement of the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is, and will remain an integral and inalienable part of India, responding to a statement of the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The Official Spokesperson of MEA, Arindam Bagchi said, "The statement issued by the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir today reeks of bigotry."

On the third anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status in the Indian Constitution, OIC General Secretariat reiterated the call for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. He said that "August 5 marks the third anniversary of the illegal and unilateral actions taken in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which were followed by additional unlawful measures including illegal demographic changes."

"Such illegal actions can neither alter the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir nor prejudice the legitimate right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people," the press release added. Responding to his remark, Bagchi said, "The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is and will remain an integral and inalienable part of India. As a result of the long-awaited changes three years ago, it today reaps the benefits of socio-economic growth and development."

"The OIC General Secretariat, however, continues to issue statements on Jammu and Kashmir at the behest of a serial violator of human rights and notorious promoter of cross-border, regional and international terrorism." "Such statements only expose the OIC as an organization devoted to a communal agenda being pursued through terrorism," he added. (ANI)

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