BJP leader Kavinder Gupta tweets about Jammu and Kashmir's identity, later deletes post

Former J&K Deputy CM Kavinder Gupta said on Sunday that J&K always had its separate identity even when India was an undivided “subcontinent”.

This statement is being seen as criticism by a BJP leader of the party-led Centre’s 2019 move to revoke the erstwhile state’s special status, The Indian Express reported.

Gupta, in a tweet on the origin of the J&K Bank, wrote, “Tum jab bar-e-sageer thay, hum tab bhi Jammu wa Kashmir the (When you were a subcontinent, even at that time we were Jammu and Kashmir).” He later took down the tweet.

The post was tagged with a J&K Bank cheque book image, dated 1947. The bank's office address was mentioned as “Muzaffarabad (Kashmir)”, which now falls in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The photo has been making several rounds on social media for the past few days.

The tweet further read, “The J&K Bank was founded in October 1938 under letters of patent issued by the then Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh.”

“The bank commenced banking business on July 4, 1939 and was considered the first of its nature and composition as a state-owned bank in the country.”

The remarks come at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing petitions that contest the Centre's move to abrogate Article 370. The changes were justified by the Centre as being made in accordance with "due process''. 

Kavinder Gupta's political roots go back to the RSS, which he joined at the age of 13. He was also a member of the PDP-BJP coalition government formed after the 2014 Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir.

Prior to being sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister, he was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.