CHENNAI: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday backed the scrapping of special status under Article 370 to Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was the need of the hour. The issue should also be seen from the national perspective and people of the country should stand with their counterparts in J and K, he said here at the launch of his book, a chronicle of his two years in office.

"Abrogation of Article 370 is the need of the hour... it is in the interest of the nation for its safety and security,"Naidu said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was also present at the book launch, asserted removal of special status will lead to end of terrorism and progress of the region.

Shah also spoke on the Vice President's link with Article 370. "As a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Naidu had protested against Article 370. A professor asked him whether he had seen Kashmir. To this, Naidu retorted that even the two eyes in our face do not see each other. But when one gets hurt, tears roll down from the other," he said.

Crediting the Vice President for the clearance of the bill to revoke Article 370, Shah said he was a bit apprehensive about moving it first in the Rajya Sabha. "It was due to Naidu's leadership that the bill got passed there," Shah said.