CHENNAI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Central government decided to abrogate Article 370 of the Consitution, that accorded a special status to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), as it was of no use to the country or the state.
Shah was speaking here after the release of "Listening, Learning and Leading", a book that chronicles Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu's two years in office.
"Article 370 was of no use for India or for Kashmir," said Shah, adding that its abrogation will end terrorism in J&K and start economic progress and development in the state.
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.