Article 370 revocation 'bold step' towards strengthening national integration, says LK Advani

BJP veteran LK Advani on Monday termed the Union government's move to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution as "historic", adding that it is a "bold step towards strengthening national integration". Advani, the longest serving president of the Saffron fold, said the scrapping of Article 370 has been a part of the BJP's core ideology since the days of Jan Sangh.

In a statement the senior BJP leader said "I congratulate Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Home Minister Shri Amit Shah for this historic initiative and pray for peace, prosperity and progress in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh".

"I am happy with the government's decision to revoke Article 370 and believes that it is a bold step towards 'strengthening national integration'. It has been a part of BJP's core ideology since the day of Jan Sangh," he added.

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Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Rajya Sabha that Article 370, which gave Jammu and Kashmir special rights, has been scrapped with the President Ram Nath Kovind's assent and also moved a bill to divide the state into two Union territories.

Shortly afterwards, Kovind came out with a notification - The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 that will come into force immediately. The order will supersede the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 as amended from time to time.

The notification also made it clear that all the provisions of the Constitution as amended from time to time, shall apply in relation to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the exceptions and modifications subject to which they shall so apply.

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The Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, moved by Shah in the Upper House, seeks to convert the state into a Union Territory with the legislature, and hive off Ladakh region into another Union Territory without legislature.

The decisions mark a new milestone in the country's politics with the BJP-led government breaking new grounds on issues that have been virtually untouched in last more than 70 years.

(With inputs from agencies)