India on Monday briefed the UN Security Council’s five permanent members and envoys of several other countries on the government’s unprecedented move on Kashmir – revoking Article 370 and bifurcating the Valley into two union territories.

It is learnt through official sources quoted by PTI that the Ministry of External Affairs has conveyed that the decisions were internal to India and they are aimed at providing good governance, promoting social justice and ensuring economic development in Jammu and Kashmir.

Advertisement

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had briefed the envoys of the US, Britain, France, China and Russia – the five permanent members of the UNSC.

Government sources said the ministry explained that the changes made today were to a “temporary” article.

“70 years is a long time for something temporary. It lessened accountability, quality of governance and added to the separatist sentiment,” the sources quoted the ministry as saying.

According to a report in NDTV, the government said that it had used a provision in the Constitution’s Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, to bring the special status to an end.

Section 3 of Article 370 empowers the President to declare the special status inoperative anytime.

“Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this article, the President may, by public notification, declare that this article shall cease to be operative or shall be operative only with such exceptions and modifications and from such date as he may specify,” the Section 3 of Article 370 states.

The ministry also said that vested interests did not want the application of Indian laws in Kashmir. This had an impact on investment and led to gender discrimination. Fundamental duties were also not applicable in the state, the sources quoted by NDTV said.

The government on Monday revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and proposed that the state be split into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the decision in Rajya Sabha, fulfilling the electoral promise of the BJP. While it sent a wave of jubilation among government supporters and others, it also provoked outrage from the NC and the PDP, the principal political parties in Jammu and Kashmir.

(With agency inputs)