Fact Check: Congress has not promised to uphold Article 370 or abolish CAA in its 2024 manifesto

New Delhi (fact check by Pallavi Mishra/Sharad Prakash Asthana): As the Lok Sabha elections draw closer, screenshots of supposed breaking news alerts are going viral on social media. These images claim that the Congress, in its 2024 manifesto, has promised to uphold Article 370, remove Section 124A, abolish the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), reduce the number of Army-CRPF personnel in Kashmir and make changes to Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).

Vishvas News fact-checked the posts and found them to be misleading. We found that the viral screenshots are from 2019, when the Congress party had promised these initiatives in its manifesto. However, in the 2024 manifesto, Congress has not mentioned anything about Article 370, Section 124A, CAA, reduction in CRPF personnel in Kashmir, and amendments to AFSPA.

What is in the viral post

On 6 April, 2024, the Facebook page Lalit Hindu (Archive Link) shared screenshots from a TV channel with the caption, “#JaagoBharatJaago, this is democracy and everyone is free — vote for anyone! But first, check their election manifesto. Are these few promises of Congress right for the national interest? #boycuttcongress Satyamev Jayate Jai Shri Ram #AapkaApnaLalitHindu”.

The screenshots shared within the post allege that the Congress, in its 2024 manifesto, has promised not to uphold Article 370, remove section 124A of treason, abolish the CAA, reduce the presence of army in Kashmir, and make changes in AFSPA.

Investigation

To start our investigation, we searched Congress’s 2024 manifesto. Nowhere in the entire manifesto is Article 370, Section 124A, CAA, AFSPA, or reducing the army in Kashmir is mentioned. However, this manifesto emphasises granting Jammu and Kashmir full state status.

Moving ahead, we checked the viral screenshots. In one of the screenshots, the scroll below the breaking plate read “Security arrangements for Sangh office should be made again: CM Kamal Nath”. Kamal Nath resigned from the post of Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister in March 2020. This indicated that the screenshots could be old.

On searching with keywords, we found that the content shared in the viral post was mentioned in the 2019 manifesto of Congress. Hence, we reviewed it thoroughly.

1) Section 37 of Congress’s 2019 manifesto reads: “Congress has stood witness to the developments in Jammu & Kashmir since the Instrument of Accession was signed on 26 October 1947. Congress affirms that the whole of Jammu & Kashmir is part of India. We also acknowledge the unique history of the State and the unique circumstances under which the State acceded to India that led to the inclusion of Article 370 in the Constitution of India. Nothing will be done or allowed to change the Constitutional position.”

2) The third point of section 30 of Congress’s 2019 manifesto reads: “Omit Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (that defines the offence of ‘sedition’) that has been misused and, in any event, has become redundant because of subsequent laws.”

3) The third point of section 38 of the Congress’s 2019 manifesto says: “We will withdraw immediately the widely resented Citizenship Amendment Bill introduced by the BJP Government against the wishes of the people of the NES”.

4) The third point of the 37th section of the Congress’s 2019 manifesto says: “Congress promises to review the deployment of armed forces, move more troops to the border to stop infiltration completely, reduce the presence of the Army and CAPFs in the Kashmir Valley, and entrust more responsibility to the J&K police for maintaining law and order.”

5) The sixth point of the 30th section of the Congress’ 2019 manifesto: “Amend the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, in order to strike a balance between the powers of security forces and the human rights of citizens and to remove immunity for enforced disappearance, sexual violence and torture.”

We spoke to Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on the matter and she said, “Congress has not mentioned these things in the manifesto this time. The opposition is spreading lies.”

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases. Lok Sabha elections will begin on 19 April and results will be declared on 4 June, 2024. The complete schedule of the elections can be seen on the official X handle of the Election Commission (archive link).

https://theprint.in/hoaxposed/fact-check-congress-has-not-promised-to-uphold-article-370-or-abolish-caa-in-its-2024-manifesto/2036494/