New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS): The Congress has called a meeting of all senior party leaders including those from states to discuss the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

In a letter to senior party leaders, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said: "It has been decided to hold a meeting of General Secretaries, in-charges of the states, state unit chiefs, CLP leaders, chairpersons of AICC departments and cells and Congress MPs on Friday at 6 p.m."

The meeting, the letter said, will discuss the abrogation of Article 370.

The meeting comes after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday passed a resolution denouncing the scrapping of Article 370, terming the provision the "constitutional recognition of the Instrument of Accession between the state of Jammu and Kashmir and India".

The resolution was passed after a meeting of the CWC, the party's highest decision-making body, lasted around four hours with a number of Congress leaders arguing that doing away with Article 370 was in national interests.

But the CWC resolution said Article 370 deserved to be honoured until it was amended, after consultation with all sections of the people, and strictly in accordance with the Constitution of India.

Terming the abrogation of Article 370 as "unilateral, brazen and undemocratic", the resolution said Jammu and Kashmir was dismembered by misinterpreting the provisions of the Constitution.