J&K witnessing new development dawn: Ravishankar Prasad

Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a "new dawn" for development and employment opportunities after the abrogation of Article 370, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here on September 13.

Prasad was delivering a key-note address on "law reforms by Modi government for new India" at an event organised by a private organisation.

He listed various laws such as the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, Prevention of Corruption Act and Right to Information Act which was not in force in Jammu and Kashmir due to Article 370.

After the withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir's special status through abrogation of Article 370, 153 laws were made applicable to the state, he said.

"There was no development in the state and about 42,000 were people killed (in the last few decades) taxpayers' money was wasted due to separatism and terrorism," he said.

"How the people have responded? They are joining the Army, 29,000 young men and women have registered for getting recruited in the Army, a new dawn is happening in Kashmir for employment and development," he added.

The minister also mentioned the law penalising triple talaq among the Muslims.

"Triple talaq (law) is not a single step in the quest for gender justice, it is part of a larger narrative of the Narendra Modi government where gender empowerment is the core of our initiative," Prasad said.