Industrialists laud government's decision of scrapping Article 370

Key industrialists of the country, including Adani Group head Gautam Adani and Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra, on Monday hailed the Union Government's move to scrap Article 370 and asserted that the decision will empower locals in Jammu and Kashmir.

"What the nation saw today will be truly historic if it opens the gateway for development and peace in Jammu And Kashmir. It will not just empower the Kashmiri people but make India stronger. #Article370" Gautam Adani tweeted.

Echoing Adani's sentiments, Anand Mahindra opined that it is time to embrace Kashmiris as an "indistinguishable and inseparable part" of the national community.

"There are some decisions, which when taken, evoke the reaction "Why couldn't this have happened earlier?" Today's decision falls in that category. It's time for us all to embrace Kashmiris as an indistinguishable & inseparable part of our national community," he wrote on Twitter.

Also voicing his opinion on the abrogation of Article 370 was RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka, who said his earlier ventures in the Valley were closed down due to terrorism.

"We used to have two beautiful factories including a tulip garden in Kashmir. With militancy these had closed down. With the #Article370 revoked, I expect investments to return and the saying come back true "If there is heaven on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here," he tweeted.

Earlier in the day, the government had revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and proposed that the state be bifurcated into two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 was passed by Rajya Sabha after MPs voted on the bill using paper ballot due to a technical glitch in the electronic voting system.