Entire country rejoicing dilution of Article 370: Venkaiah Naidu

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said the entire country is rejoicing dilution of Article 370 relating to special status of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state as it was done through a democratic process, reflecting the desire and mood of the people. Stressing that the dilution of Article 370 was an internal affair of India, the Vice President regretted that some misinformation was being spread by certain sections of the Western media.

"The entire country started rejoicing it because it was done through a democratic system and I can tell you, it is an internal affair of India. It is a part of democratic governance... Nobody needs to have any apprehensions on that count. Yes you have used a system for some time, and when you make a change, there will be some problems...," Naidu said at the 21st Assocham JRD Tata Memorial Lecture.

Referring to the recent Supreme Court judgement on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue, the Vice President said, "If we are able to tackle contentious issues, you have seen 370, you have seen how the solution is found even on Ayodhya... we have that ability." Observing that Article 370 was supposed to be a "temporary transitory measure", Naidu said it was not part of the Accession Agreement reached between Maharaja Hari Singh and the government at the time.

"It was inserted later as a temporary transitory provision... So Parliament in its collective wisdom going by the mood and the desire of the people have taken up the issue and then amended it...," the Vice President said. Without naming any country, he underlined that India believes in peaceful co-existence including with our "troubling neighbour". "Aiding, abetting, funding, training terrorism is no way and terror is the enemy of humanity," Naidu said.