Abrogation of Article 370 led to integration of J-K with India: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the abrogation of Article 370 enabled the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian Union.

He also said the Parliament has made Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India by ending Article 370, under the leadership of Prime Minister and India's most popular leader, Narendra Modi.

Shah was speaking at the passing out parade of IPS probationers at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) here.

"The complete merger of Jammu and Kashmir with Indian Union did not happen with the existence of Article 370," he added.

Paying glowing tributes to the country's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he said Hyderabad became a part of India due to the police action carried out (to unite the erstwhile Hyderabad state of Nizam) under his (Patel's) leadership.

While Patel united 630 princely states with the Indian Union, the last missing point was the complete merger of Jammu and Kashmir, he noted.

"Everybody was feeling that something was missing," he said.

Observing that the country faced many challenges, including terrorism, narcotics, and cyber crime, he said the nation cannot become a developed one unless it was secure internally.

He stressed the need to ensure law and order and peace in the country to take it on the path of achieving the goal set by Modi of becoming a five trillion dollar economy.

Urging young IPS officers to work fearlessly in the spirit of the Constitution, Shah said, "being fearless and working under the scope of Constitution without fear, that would be the biggest quality of IPS officer."

Both elected representatives and civil servants get the opportunity to serve the Constitution and the country, but the difference was that elected representatives would have to seek a fresh mandate after five years, he noted.

The batch of 92 probationers includes 12 Lady Probationers, according to an official release.

Of the 11 foreign officers in the batch, six are from Royal Bhutan Police and five from Nepal Police.