Jammu-Kashmir

Our Correspondent / New Delhi

The Central government has said that there was no proposal to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said on Tuesday.

Responding to a written question in the Lok Sabha, Ahir said: “There is currently no such proposal under consideration of the government.”

The article, added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954, accords special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and empowers its legislature to frame any law without attracting a legal challenge.

The provision prohibits all Indians — except people from Jammu and Kashmir — from purchasing immovable property in the state, getting government jobs and availing state-sponsored scholarship schemes.