'Honoured Hari Singh, dishonoured Accession': Chidambaram to BJP on declaring Maharaja Hari Singh's birthday as holiday

Former Finance Minister and Congress RS MP P Chidambaram on Saturday questioned the BJP government's decision to declare the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra ruler of J&K, a holiday.

New Delhi:Former Finance Minister and Congress RS MP P Chidambaram on Saturday took a swipe at the BJP over the announcement that Maharaja Hari Singh's birthday would be a public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the ruling party must explain the decision to honour the erstwhile ruler and "dishonour" the terms of the accession to India which the royal had signed on.

"BJP has discovered the virtues of Maharaja Hari Singh and has declared his birthday as a holiday The most important act of Hari Singh in his lifetime was the decision to sign the Instrument of Accession and accede to India on certain terms," Chidambaram wrote in a series of tweets.

"Will the BJP please explain the decision to honour Hari Singh and the decision to dishonour the terms of the Accession? As Maharaja, Hari Singh had the right to speak for his people and determine their future," he added.

"In his absence, only the people's elected representatives can determine their future The decisions of 5th August 2019 were not the decisions of the people or of the elected Legislature or of the duly constituted government," the Congress leader wrote.

On August 5, 2019, the Centre scrapped J and K's special status and bifurcated it into Union Territories- Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. Jammu and Kashmir administration has decided to declare Maharaja Hari Singh's birth anniversary on September 23 as a public holiday, an official spokesman said on Thursday night.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha made the announcement following his meeting with a delegation comprising prominent political leaders, members of Yuva Rajput Sabha, civil society members at the Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Thursday, the spokesman had said.

"The government has taken a decision to declare Maharaja Hari Singh Ji's birthday as a public holiday. Maharaja Hari Singh was a great educationist, progressive thinker, social reformer and a towering man of ideas and ideals. The public holiday will be a fitting tribute to Maharaja Hari Singh Ji's rich legacy," Sinha had said.