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Updated: Aug 06, 2019 14:08 IST

More Congress leaders on Tuesday came out in support of scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, a stand contrary to the party line, even as top leaders went into damage control and called a CWC meeting to formulate a clear stand after several senior leaders embarrassed the opposition party by backing the government.

Aditi Singh, Congress MLA from Sonia Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency Rae Bareli said: “I’m in absolute support of the decision. It will help in integrating J&K into the mainstream. It’s a historic decision. It should not be politicised. As an MLA, in my capacity, I welcome this decision,” reports ANI. She is the Rae Bareli Sadar MLA.

Another Congress leader and Sports and Youth Affairs minister of Rajasthan Ashok Chandna also tweeted his support. “This is my personal view, I support scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. But the implementation of the decision must be done through peaceful means and not with high-handedness,” he wrote, joining several other Congress leaders who have supported the government’s move.

#WATCH Aditi Singh, Congress MLA Raebareli Sadar speaks on #Article370revoked: I'm in absolute support of the decision. It will help in integrating J&K into the mainstream. It's a historic decision. It should not be politicised. As an MLA, in my capacity, I welcome this decision. pic.twitter.com/fSmzpesjnB — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 6, 2019

Shah on Monday, in a historic move, announced in Rajya Sabha scrapping of the Article 370 that grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir and also divided the state into two UTs. The announcement was aggressively opposed by Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, who condemned the government’s proposal and accused it of murdering the Constitution. But many in the party supported the move.

Congress whip in Rajya Sabha, Bhubaneswar Kalita, resigned saying party was committing suicide by opposing the abrogation of Article 370. In a letter, Kalita said that the party leadership had asked him to issue a whip but he felt that the “whip was against the nation’s sentiments”. Thus, he said, he decided to resign from the party.

Another senior leader Janardhan Dwivedi also backed the government move to scrap special status for Jammu and Kashmir . Dwivedi said that Article 370 was a “mistake of history” which had been corrected.

Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora also called for putting aside political differences while adding that India’s interest should be prioritised.

“Unfortunate that Article 370 is being converted into liberal versus conservative debate. Parties should put aside ideological fixations and debate what’s best for India’s sovereignty, peace in Jammu and Kashmir, jobs for Kashmiri youth and justice for Kashmiri Pandits” Deora tweeted.

Former Congress MP Deepender Hooda also tweeted his support for the bill. “My personal view is that there isn’t a need to have Article 370 in the 21st century. The move is not only in the interest of the country but also for the benefit of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. It is the responsibility of the government to implement the move in a peaceful environment,” he wrote