Speaking from the Red Fort after hoisting the national flag, the Prime Minister bluntly denounced political opposition to his Article 370 move. "Those who speak in support of Article 370, the nation asks them, if it was so essential and life-changing, if you had the conviction, then for 70 years, why did it remain temporary, why did you not use your large mandates to make it permanent?" PM Modi questioned, apparently targeting the Congress, which has accused the government of blindsiding the opposition in parliament with the swift move to scrap special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and split it into two Union Territories.