India's decision to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir and to scrap Article 370 is an internal matter as it does not violate any border or international line of control, said India Ambassador to US Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Monday.
In an interview with Fox News, Shringla said, "It is important to distinguish between truth and distortion and what you have heard is a great deal of the latter."
"India has reorganised the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories with legislative assembly and council. It does not in any way impinge the border of Jammu and Kashmir and international line of control and is, therefore, an internal matter of the country" the Indian envoy said.
Shringla said that India has taken the decision to do away with provisional Article 370 because it was "hankering" with the growth in the erstwhile state.
"We have taken this decision because we have found that over 70 years the development in the state has been hankered by the so-called special status that the state enjoyed. It is a temporary provision under the constitution and now the intention is to ensure the good governance and socio-economic justice reaches the state," he said.
Last week, New Delhi had revoked Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and enacted the law that bifurcates the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir with Assembly and Ladakh without it.
When asked about present restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, Shringla said: "These measures were temporary and preventive in nature we know the possibilities of the cross border of infiltration and terrorism and we know there would be incitement of violence. We have taken preventive steps."
Talking about US President Donald Trump's offer to mediate in the Kashmir issue, Shringla said India has rejected Trump offer as Kashmir is a bilateral issue and New Delhi and Islamabad must solve it jointly.
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