Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that Article 370 and 35A were a gateway to terrorism in the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by repealing those provisions has shut that entrance.
"PM Modi fulfilled Sardar Patel's dream. By repealing Article 370 and Article 35A, PM Modi united Jammu Kashmir with India forever. I want to tell you again that Article 370 and 35 A were a gateway to terrorism in the country...PM Modi has shut that gate," the Home Minister said before flagging off the "Run for Unity" programme here.
Paying tributes to the first Home Minister of the country, Sardar Patel on his birth anniversary, Shah said, "Sardar Patel merged over 500 princely states to form a united India but one thing was lacking -- Jammu Kashmir. Though it was merged with India, it remained a problem for us due to Article 370 and Article 35A. For 70 years, nobody found it appropriate to touch it. August 5 is the day when the Parliament of India removed Article 370 and Article 35 A and fulfilled the unfulfilled dream of Sardar Patel."
Shah also claimed that Sardar Patel did not get due recognition even after several years of independence and credited PM Modi for taking steps which gave due recognition to the former Home Minister.
The Home Minister credited Sardar Patel and noted that Mahatma Gandhi also acknowledged the complex tasks done by him.
"When all work was done, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter to Sardar Patel -- the problem of princely states was so complex, so big that except for you, no one else could have done that work. By merging all these princely states, you have done the greatest service to India," Shah said.
( With inputs from ANI )