Washington, Nov 21 (IANS): US Congressman Pete Olson has praised India for revoking Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, saying the move will bring equality and peace to the region.
Speaking in the US House of Representatives, Olson said that Article 370 was a temporary provision, a stop-gap measure, that was forcing the people of Jammu and Kashmir to live under laws different from the rest of India.
"The Indian Parliament decided to end it," he said, adding that it was passed with a landslide majority in both Houses of the Indian Parliament on August 5.
He said the revocation of Article 370 that gave special status to J&K "brings equality to all Indians, and this action brings peace to Kashmir."
The Republican Representative for Texas' 22nd Congressional district also tweeted his speech: "Today I spoke on the House floor to stand with India and Prime Minister @narendramodi as he works to bring peace to the region, expand democracy and unite the people of #JammuAndKashmir with the greater Indian community."
Last Thursday, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission saw Kashmiri Hindu Sunanda Vashisht speak out strongly in favour of revocation of special status to Kashmir.
She told the US Congressional hearing that those talking of human rights violations in Kashmir today cannot ignore the rights of the Kashmiri Hindus who were forced to flee by Islamic radicals in 1990.
Most of the other speakers attacked India at the Congressional hearing over alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.