The Congress and the BJP engaged in a war of words on Tuesday over the opposition party's manifesto pledge to review the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir. While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it would compromise national security, the Congress hit back saying if amending AFSPA was anti-national, why did the government withdraw it from Tripura, Meghalaya and some districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Slamming the BJP's criticism of the proposal, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said: "If amending AFSPA is anti-national, why did the government withdraw today the Act from three districts of Arunachal Pradesh?" "Why was AFSPA withdrawn totally from Tripura in 2015 and remains withdrawn? Why was AFSPA withdrawn from Meghalaya in 2018 and remains withdrawn?"

Source: dna April 02, 2019 17:48 UTC