'Vajpayee, earlier BJP leaders never spoke of bifurcating J&K': Gulam Nabi Azad

• Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the government should bring a bill to restore statehood in Jammu and Kashmir. Azad said that he fails to understand the rationale for bifurcating J&K into UTs. The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha was speaking during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's address. "I have heard Vajpayee’s speeches, the then home minister’s and several BJP MPs. But I have never heard them demand that the state should be bifurcated. I can understand and I support a union territory status for Leh. The government could have done that, but the state should be left untouched. Law and order situation in the state was much better before. Militancy was at its lowest, developmental works were good when there was a state govt," Azad said. He, however, congratulated the government for conducting the DDC elections in Jammu and Kashmir.