Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, while expressing his confidence about the nullification of Articles 370 and 35-A, said that it would boost growth and create employment opportunities in Jammu and Kashmir. While talking about the articles, he said that Article 370 that was aimed at giving a special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir was incorporated into the constitution by Nehru despite the resistance by Bhimrao Ambedkar.

Article 370 and 35-A was a mistake

He also said that the incorporation of both the articles was a mistake in the Constitution that was made by Nehru and that now it had been rectified by the Modi government. While speaking at a programme, he said, "There was an atmosphere of fear and hunger, unemployment, rampant corruption, lack of healthcare facilities among many other problems in Jammu and Kashmir but the situation will rapidly improve after the NDA government's decision to remove articles 370 and 35-A.”

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He further said that the abrogation will help farmers in getting the right price for their crops and that the reservation will be granted to eligible people. He also added that the laws of the government of India which were not applicable in J&K earlier will now be able to be implemented in the state.

"Jammu and Kashmir will now have new investments, industrial development, job creation, and overall growth," he said.
"The vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP is to make India a global super economic power and we are working for it without having any discrimination for against caste or community," he said.

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Abrogation of Article 370

Talking about Article 370, the Government of India, abrogated Article 370 of the Indian Constitution on August 5, also bifurcating the state into two union territories - Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh. Following the abrogation, J&K witnessed curfews in the form of a communication blackout intended to prevent any untoward incident. Additionally, political leaders such as Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were put under detention in order to prevent escalation of any situation that would incite violence, the government said. 

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(With inputs from PTI)