‘Article 370 Posed Hurdle In Kashmir's Progress,’ Says Law Minister RS Prasad

Prasad said that Kashmir is an indispensable part of the Indian territory and that the government will always work for its betterment.

RS Prasad at Purvodaya 2019

New Delhi: Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said that Article 370 which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir was a hindrance in the way to progress of the valley and its abrogation will prove to be a beneficial move. Speaking at an conclave organised by Hindustan, Purvodaya, held in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Prasad said that the Article never served any purpose for the betterment of Kashmir, but was often misused to block a number of government acts. He said that due to Article 370, several acts like Rights To Education, Right To Information and Prevention of Corruption Act could not be implemented in the former Indian state. He said that manual scavenging practices which existed in the state, could not be eliminated there, as Article 370 posed a hurdle. Death of thousands of civilians in the valley and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits following their mistreatment, was all a result of the Article, he said. Hailing the move of scrapping it, the Law Minister said that today 29000 Kashmiri youths have registered to join the Army and will serve the nation. He said that the government's move was in the interest of the nation. He said that Kashmir is an indispensable part of the Indian territory and that the government will always work for the betterment of the Union Territory. He blamed the former Prime Minister of India Jawahar Lal Nehru for the Article and said that no problems arose in the states which were handled by Sardar Patel during the process of unification of India, but it occurred only in the accession of Jammu & Kashmir which was handled by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru.