Puri Sankaracharya for repealing Article 370

Puri Sankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati Saturday said it is in the national interest to repeal Article 370 of the constitution which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"It is in the national interest to repeal Article 370 which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir," Saraswati told media in Bihar's Rajgir city, about 100 km from here.

The Sankaracharya, who is on visit to Bihar since last week, said Article 370 was brought only for 10 years after Independence. But its period was extended to benefit a particular community.

"After initial period of 10 years, those who extended it till date only wanted to benefit a particular community," he said.

The sankaracharya advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi to move ahead without compromising on anything in national interest.

Stirring a controversy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh Tuesday said the government has started the process for repealing Article 370.

The article specifies that except for defence, foreign affairs, communications and ancillary matters (matters specified in the instrument of accession), the Indian parliament needs the state government's concurrence for applying all other laws.